I Dream of The Monkees
by MonkeeGirl97
Summary: Major Nelson and Jeannie head to the beaches of California for one of Tony's business trips, where, enjoying an afternoon at the beach, Jeannie encounters four young boys who seem to be full of fun and adventure. Meanwhile, The Monkees are in deep fear of losing the career of doing what they love most. Can the mysterious blonde girl they meet on the beach somehow help them out?
1. The Surfing Incident

**Hello everyone! I know it's been a LONG time since I last posted anything, but I've been super busy trying to keep up with two jobs and I hardly have any free time to even turn my laptop on anymore! But I HAVE to get my imagination up and running again, so I've finally decided to come up with a story based on my favorite show The Monkees. Let me just say from the start that I may get inconsistent with my updates, but I will try my best to post at least every week or sometimes every other week. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the first installment of my I Dream of Jeannie/Monkees crossover and let me know what you think! :)**

Two figures walked slowly arm in arm on one of the private beaches in Malibu, California. The man was dressed in slacks and a blue uniform jacket was slung over his arm due to the warm beach weather. The woman, who was shorter than the man wore a light pink summer dress and carried her heels in her other hand.

"Oh, Master! This vacation is just what you've needed!" Jeannie exclaimed happily as she leaned into Major Anthony Nelson's shoulder lovingly. The man smiled and looked around at the very few people scattered on the beach.

"It's not really a vacation, Jeannie. You know we're just staying for a few days until Roger gets here for the meeting this weekend." He said softly. Jeannie looked up at him, her eyes bright.

"I know that, Master." She giggled. "But none of the other astronauts left this early to get here for the meeting."

"Well, I know how sentimental you are of the beach." Tony murmured with a smirk. Jeannie's face brightened even further and she giggled again.

"Aww Master!"

Tony smiled to himself as Jeannie stood on her tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on his cheek. They stopped walking for a moment as a group of boys out in the ocean started shouting excitedly. Jeannie watched them climb onto their surfboards as they caught a large wave to ride back to shore on. One of the boys wiped out and dove to the side into the water while the other few continued their weaving ride on the wave. A few moments later, the remaining three boys skidded to a stop in the shallows of the ocean and the one that had dove off of his board was also dragging his board behind him as he swam to shore.

"Oh, that looks like fun!" Jeannie laughed, tugging on Tony's arm in her excitement. Tony chuckled lightly as Jeannie watched the boys laugh and talk amongst themselves.

"Yeah…I used to try my hand at surfing back when I was a kid." He said, smiling at the memories.

Jeannie suddenly gasped excitedly and Tony's smile slowly faded as he realized that Jeannie had formed an idea in her head. He glanced down at her bright blue eyes and curtly shook his head before she even said anything.

"No…"

"Oh but Master…this is your vacation!" She prodded him with a wide smile on her round face.

"It's not a vacation – I said no!" He rapidly shook his head at her, dreading the moment when she would blink him out into the ocean on a random surfboard on the largest wave imaginable.

"You said it would be fun!" She pleaded with him again, slipping her arm out of his and crossing her arms over her chest. Tony held up his hands quickly and she tilted her head to the side at his sudden silence.

"I _did_ say it would be fun, Jeannie. But…look at me. Look at _you._ We're not really in our beach attire at the moment…and I don't…"

As soon as the words had spilled out of his mouth, he knew she would have an immediate response for him. Her arms folded smartly in front of her, Jeannie nodded her head once and blinked. Tony suddenly felt that his uniform and jacket were gone, replaced with swimming trunks and a beach towel slung over his arm in place of his jacket. Jeannie wore a stunningly bright pink one-piece swimsuit and when she noticed his reaction she clapped her hands excitedly.

"All taken care of, Master!" She giggled triumphantly. She pointed behind him and as he turned, he noticed a sparkling dark blue surfboard, shined and ready for his use standing straight up in the sand.

"Right…" Tony murmured and Jeannie bounced energetically with her excitement as Tony carefully pulled the board out of the deep sand.

"I'm sure you are wonderful at surfing, Master! You are at everything else you do!" She said supportively as he handed her the beach towel that had appeared over his arm. He tucked the surfboard under his arm and headed for the water, Jeannie gently pushing him to make him go faster.

"Now, Jeannie, do you know how long it's been since I've done this?" Tony tried again as he waded out to his waist in the ocean. Jeannie who had followed him out a little ways smiled at him teasingly.

"Anthony darling, this is your vacation. Take some time to have fun!" She smiled her bright smile up at him and he felt himself give in slightly as he turned and paddled out into the deeper water where the waves formed.

Jeannie turned around and waded her way back up to the shore to watch him, laying out the beach towel and blinking a picnic basket into existence in the sand beside her. She blinked once more and a pair of bright pink sunglasses appeared on her face, matching perfectly with her bathing suit. She pulled a cherry flavored popsicle from her magic basket and popped it into her mouth, grinning as she glimpsed her Major Nelson climbing unsteadily up onto his board out in the ocean. She blinked abruptly and turned the average oncoming wave he had been waiting for into an immensely larger one, and she could distantly hear his surprised cries as he struggled to stay on top of the surfboard for the ride.

Jeannie glanced curiously over to her right where the group of young surfers had almost reached the shore, laughing and joking around in the shallows. There were four of them in all, one of them a great deal shorter than the other three. Even from the distance she was from them, Jeannie could see their long hair plastered to the backs of their necks and from their body language, she could tell they were very good friends.

As she studied them curiously, one of the boys noticed her and lifted his hand in a friendly wave. Surprised, Jeannie took the popsicle out of her mouth and waved back at them quickly. Their voices rang out down the beach and Jeannie smirked as she popped the popsicle back into her mouth, turning her attention back to her Major Nelson. He was crouched down low over his own surfboard, holding onto its slickly polished sides in a last attempt to stay on top of it.

The wave Jeannie had blinked was near to running its course, and she smiled excitedly as Tony shakily balanced upright on the board once more. Jeannie leaned forward expectantly and then giggled as Tony, seeming to give up on his surfing attempt at last, threw himself to the left and flopped into the rushing ocean.

Jeannie looked down the beach to where the four teenage boys were still talking in loud, arguing voices among themselves. As she watched them, one of the taller boys snatched what looked like a hat off one of the other boys' heads, starting a chase down the beach towards where Jeannie was sitting. Major Nelson who was struggling to swim after his board out in the ocean was completely forgotten to Jeannie for the moment as she registered the boys' approach. She straightened as the shorter of the four boys dashed straight past her, clutching a blue hat in his fist. He was quickly followed by the other three teens who were shouting after him, narrowly swerving around Jeannie where she sat on her blanket in the sand.

The last boy, brown hair drying in frizzy curls on top of his head, stumbled in his attempt to stay caught up with his friends and kicked over Jeannie's magic picnic basket as he ran past. Jeannie gasped in surprise and blinked reflexively, up righting the basket before its contents could spill into the sand around it. The tall curly haired boy stopped hurriedly and turned back to Jeannie, his eyes wide and apologetic.

"Hey, I'm…I'm sorry – I couldn't stop and I…" He trailed off, having knelt down to pick up what he thought was the overturned picnic basket. When he spotted the basket Jeannie had blinked out of the way, he paused and stared at it quizzically before looking at Jeannie's equally surprised face.

"Oh, it's no problem. As you see, there was no harm done." Jeannie said sweetly, looking between the red popsicle in her hand to the boy's befuddled expression. He scratched the back of his head and shrugged, standing back up to his full height once more to look after his friends.

"I'll uh…Then I guess I'll see you around!" He said lightly as he jogged away from her after the other three boys. Jeannie let out a heavy sigh of relief when the boy had gotten out of earshot. She bit her lip worriedly as she glanced at the picnic basket and then after the boy. That had definitely been a close call.

Jeannie hastily finished her popsicle in time to leap to her feet and meet Tony as he dragged himself out of the shallow waves, his surfboard already washed up on the shore a few yards down the beach.

"Oh Master you were wonderful!" Jeannie squealed excitedly, throwing her arms around him and leaping into his arms. He laughed lightly and then gently put her back down onto the sand with a worried look on his face.

"Now Jeannie…you really need to be more careful whenever you're blinking things like that. Somebody could've noticed that big wave that came out of nowhere." He said seriously.

Jeannie slowly raised her gaze back to Major Nelson and cringed slightly at his stern expression, the popsicle stick she had been fidgeting with in her hands snapped in half and she dropped it to the sand.

"I'm sorry Master…I guess I just got carried away again…" She apologized quietly. She threw her gaze back to where the large beach towel still lay spread out behind them in the sand, the picnic basket lying beside it. "…We could just sit here on the beach for now if you'd like?"

"No, Jeannie…I think we'd better go back to the hotel. I don't want you getting any other wild ideas out here today. Next thing you'll have me doing is parasailing or something." Tony said in what Jeannie knew to be a lighthearted scolding. She tilted her head to the side questioningly and peered up at him from behind her sunglasses.

"What is parasailing, Master?" She asked curiously. Tony threw her a warning look and she shrugged lightly as she turned to blink the picnic basket and beach towel out of existence. She hooked her arm into Tony's waiting elbow and stared down the beach at the group of boys who were now tackling each other, each of them covered in sand and laughing uncontrollably. Making sure that no one noticed the two of them, Jeannie blinked once more and both she and her master disappeared from the beach.


	2. Typical Monkees Antics

_"You pushed me off that board, Peter! Admit it!"_

Davy Jones, the shortest member of The Monkees quickly ran to retrieve his faded red surfboard from where it had washed up on the shore. Peter Tork, who had surprisingly fared better than Davy had in his latest surfing attempt; stopped in surprise at the handsome teen's angry outburst.

"I did not!" He objected sincerely. "I wasn't anywhere near you!"

"He's right, Davy. You know poor old Pete can't even control his own board half the time out there." Micky Dolenz quipped, trying to be the mediator between the two of them. Davy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms across his tanned chest.

"I think me winning the race back to shore three times in a row got to him, and he finally snapped and decided to bump out the competition." Davy grumbled sourly. Micky raised an eyebrow comically to Peter who had a hurt look of disbelief on his usually dimpled face.

"Now Davy, that's just not true. If anyone stood to gain anything from you falling off your board, it would be me. So I thank you for allowing me to win this race." Mike Nesmith, the taller of the four Monkees, smiled cockily and did a mocking bow next to where his bright green surfboard stood propped up in the sand.

Both Peter and Micky broke into lighthearted laughter, which was the wrong thing to do in front of Davy at that exact moment.

"You asked for it!" Davy said warningly as he ran at Mike and leapt up to grab hold of the tall boy's iconic wool hat. Mike, surprised at Davy's quick switch to attack mode, barely had time to register what was happening before Davy had already rushed past him, his hat clutched tightly in his fist.

"Davy – hey!" Mike exclaimed, and both Peter and Micky glanced at each other before tearing after their friend.

"Is he being serious right now?!" Micky asked as he ran after Mike confusedly, Peter following hastily behind.

Micky closed in on Davy for a good while before the short teen changed course and tore up into the dry sand of the beach. Micky fell a little further behind as Mike passed by him in pursuit of Davy. Davy, who had knowingly headed up the beach toward the dunes where the soft sand would slow the following Monkees down, suddenly darted back down to the water in a wide arc that swung them back in the direction of where their surfboards waited.

Micky groaned as he felt a stitch in his side appear and he flashed Peter an annoyed look as the blonde boy flew past him. In an attempt to catch up with his fellow bandmates, he cut across the nearly empty beach past the one other sunbather in the area. Micky could see that the girl in pink was watching him carefully and he quickly tried to swerve away so he wouldn't kick any sand over her but in his haste, he felt his bare foot catch on something in the thick, hot sand. Micky let out a surprised cry as he was sent sprawling down in front of the girl, expecting her to explode with laughter. When she didn't, he glanced up apologetically.

"Hey, I'm…I'm sorry – I couldn't stop and I…"

Micky stopped and turned in the sand to see what he had tripped over but there was nothing in the sand by his feet. He frowned confusedly at the large picnic basket that was sitting on the bright pink towel next to the girl but shrugged to himself. He offered her an embarrassed smirk as he struggled up out of the sand. The girl's face was shielded by a pair of large pink sunglasses and she smiled with her bright red lips, stained from the popsicle she was treating herself too. She shook her head with a shrug.

"Oh, it's no problem. As you see, there was no harm done."

Micky smiled at her sheepishly and then noticed that the other Monkees had already passed by their surfboards down the beach, Mike and Peter still in pursuit of Davy. Micky nodded down at the girl who was still studying him curiously and he started to walk off, feeling his face flush in embarrassment.

"I'll uh…Then I guess I'll see you around!"

Micky tore off after his friends, not glancing back to the girl who he could feel was still watching after him. When he'd caught up with his bandmates, they still continued to run several yards down the beach, backtracking some when Davy dove out of their reach with a wide grin on his face. Micky was the one to finally reach the smallest Monkee. His hand clawed for Mike's hat in Davy's grasp, and locked onto the smaller boy's wrist. Davy struggled to free himself with a joking laugh and, using his surprising strength, he rolled and pulled Micky to the ground, who in turn yanked Davy down into the sand as well. Mike and Peter pried Davy's hand open and retrieved Mike's bunched up hat, shouting with gleeful triumph as Davy laughed in defeat.

"Alright, alright, I surrender!" He cried lightly, trying to catch his breath. Micky too, sat up and threw his arms into the air cheering and scattering loose sand all over the downed Davy who protested laughingly. All was right once more with the four boys.

"Hey, where'd she go?" Micky said after a moment as the boys finally managed to wind down after their beach chase. Davy glanced up at the curly haired drummer and then sat up to look in the direction that the other three Monkees were looking.

"Where did who go?" Mike asked, shielding his eyes with his hand as he peered down the beach.

"There was girl out here just a few minutes ago…I literally almost fell into her lap chasing you, Davy." Micky sat up, scratching his drying curls confusedly.

"I saw her. She was looking over here when Davy was making all of that noise a little bit ago and I waved at her." Peter said.

"I don't make _noise_ …" Davy said bitterly.

"Maybe she went home." Mike shrugged after flashing a smirk at Davy's offense. Micky shook his head, glancing behind them in the other direction down the beach, thinking that maybe in his haste to catch Davy that he had mixed up the direction they'd been running. There was still no one else on the beach for about a mile radius in either direction.

"She couldn't have left that quick, she had too much stuff to lug back…" Micky trailed off, seeming to try and convince himself more than the other boys.

"I think we've all been out in the sun too long." Davy said, eyeing the drummer worriedly. "If there was a girl out here right now, trust me, I'd know about it."

"Yeah, that chick radar of yours has never failed before." Mike said with a deadpanned smirk. Davy stuck out his tongue at the older Monkee and stood up, brushing the sand from his shoulders.

"Come on, Mick, we can't stay out here all day. It looks like it's gonna rain in a bit anyway." Peter said as he grabbed his surfboard and headed in the direction of their beach pad.

"Yeah, okay…" Micky said after another moment, shoving his hands into the pockets of his swim trunks and glancing up at the sky where a few clouds had appeared over the horizon. He sighed as he headed over to retrieve his own surfboard to follow the others back up the beach.


	3. The Disappearing Girl

Jeannie turned away from the window in Major Nelson's hotel room, sighing at the gloomy grey rain clouds she could see forming outside the glass. She glanced up as the bathroom door opened and Tony, in a fresh change of clothes, emerged toweling off his hair.

"What's the matter, Jeannie?" He asked, noticing her halfhearted expression. She shook her head and crossed the room to meet him as he sat on the edge of the double bed.

"It's nothing, Master. I just dislike the rain, you know." She said wearily. Tony nodded slowly and shrugged.

"But we've got to put up with a little rain every once in a while. It makes the good, sunny days that much more enjoyable." He said lightly. Jeannie met his gaze softly and her smile grew slightly brighter.

"Is that why you allowed me to help you go surfing this afternoon, Master?" She asked gently. Tony smiled after a moment and ran a hand through his wet hair to flatten it.

"Yeah, kinda." He admitted with a small laugh. Jeannie pursed her lips thoughtfully and then settled down next to him crossing her legs on the end of the bed. She pulled her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and began playing with it apologetically.

"Master…?"

"Yes?" Tony said, taken aback by Jeannie's once more solemn face. She bit her lip thoughtfully before she spoke again.

"Do you ever regret finding my bottle on the beach?"

Tony's eyebrows raised in shock as he regarded Jeannie's apologetic expression. He sat for a moment, several thoughts running through his mind at a fast pace. Jeannie stared patiently up at him, her eyes searching his thoughtful face.

"Jeannie, why would you say a thing like that? After all we've been through?" Tony asked, his voice cracking a little. Jeannie chewed the inside of her cheek hesitantly before answering.

"I'm sorry that I upset you with my enthusiasm so often, Master…I really do have your best intentions at heart…" She said softly. Tony smiled at her and pulled her close to him.

"Oh Jeannie, are you still worried about the surfing incident from this afternoon?" He asked. When she nodded slowly he laughed again lightly. "That's why I love you, Jeannie. Your enthusiasm and motivation is what keeps me going every day."

"Aww Master! I love you too!" She said as she draped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. Tony smiled and after a moment there was a knock at the door. Jeannie glanced at it curiously and Tony gently unhooked her arms from his neck and stood up.

"That'll be the room service. Ready for some dinner?" He asked, making his way to the door. Jeannie smiled and nodded eagerly. Tony tossed his bath towel over his shoulder and paused at the door, looking patiently back at her.

"Oh!" Jeannie exclaimed after a moment. She glanced down at her flowy pink genie's outfit and quickly blinked herself into her bright pink sundress. Tony winked at her in amusement and opened the door to allow their dinner cart to be wheeled into the hotel room.

* * *

"Psst! Hey Peter, wake up!"

Micky Dolenz leaned over his bandmate's bed later that night, trying to rouse him without disturbing Davy or Mike. Micky shook Peter's shoulder harder, clapping his hand over the blonde boy's mouth when he started to protest groggily.

"Micky – what…"

"Shhh. I've gotta talk to you." Micky hissed, seeing Peter's brown eyes open slightly in the darkened room. Peter sat up and yawned deeply before throwing his blankets off of him and standing up to follow Micky out of the bedroom the four boys shared. Once they had descended the winding staircase, Peter stumbling slightly in his semi-conscious state, Micky switched on the lamp nearest them.

"Micky, what is this about?" Peter asked through another yawn.

"It's about that girl we saw out there on the beach this afternoon…the one that disappeared…" Micky started. Immediately, Peter groaned and turned to head back up the stairs and to his warm bed. Micky hastily grabbed onto the back of the boy's pajama collar. "Now, hear me out, Pete…"

"Can't this wait till morning?" Peter complained.

"No, it can't! The other guys don't believe we saw that girl out there today, but I think we can find her again!"

"That's great, Micky, really. But she disappeared without a trace and we'll probably never see her again – why does it matter so much to you?" Peter fixed Micky with a curious stare.

"Aww Pete…you know I can't resist a good mystery! And anyways, after dinner, I went back down on the beach for a walk and look at what I found!" Micky said, digging into his pajama pants' pocket. Peter, leaning lazily against the wall with his arms crossed, watched the curly-headed drummer with blurry-eyed interest. After a few seconds, Micky produced part of a red stained popsicle stick and held it out for his bandmate to examine. Peter's gaze lit on the stick for just a moment before he looked guardedly up at Micky again.

"If this is a joke, I'm going back to bed right now." Peter said seriously. Micky shook his head and pointed out the back door of the pad where they could hear the rain pounding against the glass doors and windows.

"It's not a joke, Pete, I promise! Our mystery girl was there, alright and she's _still_ out there somewhere!" Micky insisted, his hands waving around him energetically as he explained himself. Peter regarded him carefully, stifling yet another yawn.

"Okay. So are you suggesting that we try and find her?" Peter asked once Micky had paused for his reaction. Micky clicked his finger at him and nodded with a wide smile.

"Exactly what I'm saying! We'll start by keeping watch on the beach out there where she was – just in case she does show back up." Micky said.

"Why didn't you bring this up earlier?" Peter asked, pausing thoughtfully for a moment. Micky's smile faltered and he ran a hand through his curly mess of hair sheepishly.

"Well uh...it kinda took me a while to put this plan together…I figured you would be the first one willing to hear me out on it." Micky grinned apologetically and shrugged. Peter raised an eyebrow in amusement and crossed his arms across his chest.

"And I had to hear all of this at two in the morning?" Peter joked lightly. Micky laughed and playfully swatted at Peter's shoulder before following his bandmate back up the stairs to finally head to their beds.


	4. Dashed Hopes

The next morning found the Monkees heading straight out to the beach after eating breakfast, their surfboards in tow and their eyes bright as they headed down to the water.

"Tell me again why we're coming out here this early?" Mike asked Micky, straightening his wool hat and placing a hand on his hip. Micky shrugged as he stuck his board down into the wet sand near the shore.

"I felt like Davy needed another chance to redeem himself after yesterday's uneven surfing competition. And…it's a pretty nice day out here already." Micky gestured to where the sun had already semi-dried the muggy beach from the rainstorm the night before.

"Good thing I've got plenty of sunblock here, guys, because we'll probably be out here for a while." Peter said, slipping the beach bag he had packed off his shoulder and setting it down on the beach out of reach of the rising and falling tide. Davy, who had been silent in his early morning stupor, raised an eyebrow at his blond bandmate.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are we going to surf the right way today for once?" Davy said to him accusingly. Peter threw a look at Micky who was already scanning the beach in search for the mystery girl.

"Yeah we'll surf, alright. Not sure if there's really a right way of doing it though." Micky said playfully, swinging his gaze back to the shortest Monkee. Davy narrowed his eyes challengingly and then turned huffily to head down to the water.

"What are you doing, Peter?" Mike asked, looking confusedly down to where the other boy had pulled out a large picnic blanket from the beach bag and was now in the process of laying it out in the sand. Peter paused as he reached next for a large brightly colored beach umbrella.

"What do you mean, Michael?" Peter asked, using Mike's full name in his nervousness. He looked to Micky for support and immediately the drummer stepped in.

"Like he said, we'll probably be out here all day trying to make it up to Davy. He was pretty upset about losing one race yesterday, you remember." Micky explained. Mike frowned slightly and glanced down toward the water where Davy had thrown his surfboard down into the water and was climbing onto it to peddle out to the deeper water.

"You know Davy's all talk…he wasn't really that upset…" Mike trailed off. He threw Micky and Peter a critical look. Micky smiled at the tall boy innocently and Mike narrowed his eyes. "Alright…what have you two got up your sleeves?"

"We're not wearing sleeves, man." Peter said jokingly, gesturing to their shirtless beach attire. Mike rolled his eyes and picked his board up out of the sand and carried it down to the water where Davy was already waiting out in the shallows.

"Right – so both of us will each take turns staying up here to keep watch on the beach in case she shows up while the other will go out and surf with the guys." Micky said quickly once Mike was out of earshot. Peter nodded quickly and retrieved the last item in his beach bag – a pair of binoculars. Micky winked at him and clapped a hand on the blonde boy's shoulder before he turned and jogged down to join the other two Monkees in the cool morning surf.

* * *

That same morning found Jeannie and Major Nelson on the boardwalk shopping on their last free day at the beach before the other astronauts and government members were to show up for their weekend meeting. Between the two of them, they were already loaded down with four large shopping bags. Jeannie was clothed in a light green sundress with matching green heels, and a large bright pink bow tying her bright blonde hair back into a ponytail on the back of her neck. Tony smiled down at her as she excitedly pointed out to the ocean where several sailboats weaved back and forth around each other in sport past the forming waves.

"Oh look Master!" She exclaimed as she shuffled toward the wooden railing to watch the brightly colored boats on the water. Tony followed her eagerly, holding a hand up to his forehead to shield his eyes from the nearly noonday sun.

"Yes, they're sailing." Tony explained as Jeannie unconsciously leaned out over the boardwalk's railing trying to inch a few feet closer.

"Is that what parasailing is?" She asked after a few seconds. Tony blinked in confusion and then suddenly remembered the comment he had mentioned to her the day before.

"Oh! No Jeannie, what they're doing out there is just plain _sailing._ _Parasailing_ is when someone is on a speedboat and they're tethered to the back of it by a long cable. Something like a large parachute is attached to the rider's back and as the boat picks up speed, the wind lifts the chute up into the air, and the person riding along with it." Tony found himself explaining. Jeannie's eyes locked onto him instantly and her pink mouth was pursed in thought as the gears of her mind were thrown into motion. Tony's voice stopped dead in his throat. "But Jeannie….now…you remember what you were apologizing to me last night for…don't you?"

Jeannie's blue eyes dimmed back to their usual bright color and her smile which had been growing wider at an alarming rate quickly reversed itself. She blinked back her enthusiasm slightly and cleared her throat as if it was a chore to keep herself contained. Her eyes followed the boats for several more seconds and Tony's heart rate slowed down as he realized that for the moment, he appeared to be safe from the threat of having to parasail.

"Maybe we can try it out one day." He suggested softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders when she didn't speak after a moment. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she slowly tilted her head up to glance at him.

"But not right now." She finished for him bluntly. Tony smirked down at her and nodded.

"Not right now." He agreed casually. "Maybe once we get through our meetings, we can convince Roger to come with us."

Jeannie studied him for a moment to see if he was jokingly trying to get her hopes up.

"Really?" She asked, her voice hopeful but guarded. Tony smiled and nodded and excitement once more lit up her face. "Oh I would love that!"

Jeannie giggled, pulling him down to her level to give him a quick peck on his cheek. Tony laughed softly with her, knowing that she had just left him with a bright pink lipstick mark on his cheek. When she released him she looked at his face and burst into another quiet fit of giggles, confirming his thought. After a moment, she blinked and with the smallest sensation of a touch, he knew that the lipstick mark had vanished.

"Come on, Jeannie. There's still plenty of other shops I'm sure you'll enjoy along here." Tony said, taking her free hand in his. She allowed him to steer her away from the view of the sailboat races and grinned excitedly as they resumed their shopping trip.

* * *

"I think I fared pretty well on that round..." Micky said breathlessly as he stumbled up the beach toward where Peter had once more taken up post on their lookout blanket. Mike and Davy were still wading back through the shallows after their most recent surfing race.

"Yeah…uh… hey Micky? I really don't think we're going to see our mystery girl today." Peter said from underneath the large beach umbrella. Micky's shoulders and chest were bright red from the many hours that he and his fellow Monkees had spent out surfing and his head hung low onto his chest as he walked. He tossed his surfboard onto the sand next to the picnic blanket and flopped beside Peter with a frustrated huff.

"What time is it now?" He asked with his face smooshed into the blanket. Peter glanced at his watch which he had taken off in his taking turns racing out in the ocean.

"Almost one-thirty." He replied with a sigh. Micky raised his head up off of the blanket and rested it in his hand, propped up with his elbow.

"Can't we call it a day yet?" Davy complained as he joined the two on the large blanket. "I don't know how many more times you guys think you have to lose…I'm totally fine knowing I've won the past dozen races back to shore…"

"You say it's after one?" Mike asked in surprise wringing his wool hat out as he approached the other three boys. "We can't survive on potato chips and melted candy bars much longer…why don't we go get cleaned up and grab a late lunch back at the pad?"

Peter stuffed the half empty chip bag that he had been about to offer to Mike for the third time that day back into his beach tote. Micky cast one more weary glance around the beach, seeing no sign of anyone who could possibly be the blonde mystery girl he had seen the day before. He gave a halfhearted nod and Peter stood up from his spot on the lookout blanket.

"Hey, what are those?"

Davy had been about to grab one corner of the blanket to help fold it when he noticed what had fallen out of Peter's lap when the boy had stood up. He quickly darted forward and grabbed onto the binoculars before Peter or Micky could retrieve them.

"Um…binoculars." Peter said slowly. Davy's brown eyes shot from the binoculars in his hand to Peter, catching the pleading looks the blonde was throwing at Micky. Davy and Mike were now looking between the two boys accusingly, Mike with his arms crossed across his slightly sunburnt chest, and Davy still holding onto the object in question.

"For…what?" Mike asked slowly.

"…We had to take turns refereeing the races, didn't we?" Micky explained, gesturing widely with his arm as he stood up from the blanket to face his bandmates. "Some of those waves started pretty far out there…"

Mike turned to look disbelievingly back out toward where they had been surfing and then looked back at Micky with his eyes narrowed.

"Uh huh." He said thoughtfully. "What else were you using them for?"

"We were looking for that girl I saw yesterday." Micky admitted quietly.

"…And that's why we've been out here all morning and half the afternoon." Peter added.

"Right. Thanks, Pete." Micky said under his breath.

"Why does that not surprise me?" Mike deadpanned, shaking his head.

"This girl must've been something to get you two hyped up. That's usually my thing!" Davy said confusedly. Micky shrugged and started to help Peter gather their belongings and shove them back into the beach bag.

"I mean…it was really Micky's idea to take up the search for her…" Peter said slowly, trailing off when Micky threw him a dirty look.

"We've had nothing to do for so long, man, can you blame me for trying to get involved in something?" Micky protested.

"Well, no…but look, I'm sorry. I've been looking around for gigs, I really have." Mike said, his voice softening just a little bit.

"Yeah, well maybe you need to look somewhere else. That Chinese restaurant we performed at two weeks ago was _dead._ " Davy said, closing the large beach umbrella as Mike and Peter folded up the blanket.

"The only reason they agreed to let us play there was because they thought we'd attract a better crowd for their business." Mike said matter-of-factly. Davy gave him a sarcastic look and scoffed.

"A band of nobodies like us attract a crowd?"

"We're not nobodies, Davy…" Peter said, with a pang of sadness in his voice.

"Look Davy, you know we take what we can get…" Micky tried to reason with the shorter boy. Davy sighed and solemnly nodded his head as he hefted the umbrella onto his tanned shoulder.

"Right." He muttered over his shoulder as the four boys headed up the beach back to the pad, a cloud of gloom hanging over each of them.


	5. Jeannie Meets Micky

When Jeannie and Major Nelson returned to their hotel room after a good day of shopping, they found a bellhop bringing up a cart full of suitcases and several bulging tote bags to the room next door.

"Excuse us," Tony said, nodding to the bellhop who was trying to balance everything on the small cart while edging his way down the hall out of the couple's way. Jeannie noticed as they passed the bellhop that the poor boy's shoelace was untied. Thankfully he didn't have to go far, just to the next door down, but he did stumble slightly underneath the load of bags on his cart. While Tony had his back turned to her while he unlocked their hotel room, Jeannie quickly blinked and the bellhop's shoe retied itself before he could have an unfortunate accident. She smiled as the boy glanced quizzically down at his neatly tied shoes before he shrugged and knocked on the door of the new guests' room.

"Yes? Oh – hi! Come on in, I'll help you with that." A familiar voice said as the neighboring room's door swung open. Jeannie who had turned back to see Tony struggling underneath the weight of five big shopping bags to unlock their room, paused and turned once more to see the face of the familiar voice.

"Major Healey?!" Jeannie said in surprise. The man in the room next door glanced up as he grabbed one of the large suitcases on the bellhop's cart and his face lit up in recognition.

"Jeannie! Tony! Hey!" He exclaimed, setting the suitcase back down on the cart just as the bellhop had reached for the bags underneath it.

"Hey!" The poor boy exclaimed as he narrowly avoided having his hands smashed beneath Major Healey's suitcase.

"Sorry, pal." Roger quickly apologized before squeezing past the cart of suitcases to greet his friends.

"Roger, you're here a day early. I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow night." Tony said in delighted surprise. Jeannie wrapped her arms around the other astronaut excitedly.

"Oh, that means we can all try parasailing tomorrow!" She exclaimed, squealing with anticipation. Roger laughed in confusion, looking to Tony to explain the girl's outburst. Tony smiled sheepishly and shrugged at Roger's befuddled face.

"Aww, I didn't know you two had a day at the beach already planned out…I don't want to mess up your plans if you already made them." Roger said sincerely, misreading Tony's expression.

"Uh, no, Roger, we don't exactly have anything set in stone for tomorrow, but we really didn't decide to all go parasailing, either." Tony said, flashing a serious glance at Jeannie who was still grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, nonsense Master! If Major Healey is willing, I'm sure I could arrange for us all to take a quick parasailing trip!" Jeannie said, reflexively folding her arms across her chest in preparation to blink them out to the ocean.

"Jeannie, not right now!"

"Woah!"

Roger and Tony both jumped forward, each grabbing one of Jeannie's elbows before the girl could even react. Jeannie slowly allowed them to uncross her arms and she glanced over her shoulder to where the bellhop was staring at the trio with a confused expression on his face. Tony and Roger both laughed uncomfortably in relief and nodded at the boy. Roger dug a hand into his uniform pocket and handed the boy a few wadded up dollar bills.

"Thanks a lot for helping me with those bags…I'll call the office when I'm ready to place my order for dinner." Roger said. The bellhop nodded slowly and threw a final glance over his shoulder as he pushed the empty cart back down the hall toward the elevator. As soon as the boy had rounded the corner, Tony looked back at Jeannie sternly.

"I'm sorry, Master…I almost got carried away again." She said lowly. Tony nodded and resumed unlocking the door to their hotel room.

"It's a good thing Roger was here, Jeannie."

"Yeah, who knows what that poor kid would've done. He probably would've run down screaming about us three disappearing like ghosts or something and we'd be the talk of the whole hotel by the time we finished parasailing." Roger blurted out. Jeannie's eyes misted up as Tony finally managed to unlock the door to their hotel room.

"I'm really sorry, Master…" She said, her voice small and uneven. Tony looked back at her, his expression apologetic.

"Jeannie, you know I'm not mad at you, but…" He started but she shook her head hastily.

"But." She repeated quickly. Tony stopped and blinked with her interruption.

"What?" He asked.

"You always follow up with 'but…' I know what you're going to say, Master." She said, wiping at her face. Tony glanced at Roger who was studying the back of Jeannie's head worriedly.

"What am I going to say, Jeannie?" Tony asked her slowly. Jeannie hung her head.

"You're going to tell me again how much I need to 'be more careful' and 'work on my self-control.' Master…I try and try but I always get excited for you. I want you to have fun on your vacation…"

"And we will, Jeannie! Look – Roger's here now, we can go and find something to do…" Tony tried, his heart hammering fearfully at the heartbroken expression on Jeannie's usually bubbly face.

"I…I need to go collect myself for a moment, Master…" Jeannie said, picking at her blonde ponytail nervously as she felt the tears welling up once more. Tony took a step toward her, looking to Roger for help.

"Jeannie, wait!"

Avoiding his gaze, Jeannie quickly blinked and disappeared, leaving the two astronauts standing dumbfounded in the empty hotel hallway.

* * *

"Well…that could have gone better." Mike said to fill up the silence that had overtaken the group after the last song they had rehearsed in their living room. Micky set his drumsticks on the head of his drum with an audible click and sat back on his stool with a weary sigh.

"It wasn't that bad…I think we actually sound pretty okay." Peter said optimistically to a soft grumble from the other three boys.

"How do we know if we're any good if no one will even hire us to play?" Davy asked, dropping his tambourine on the drum behind him. Mike slipped his guitar strap over his head and replaced it in its stand behind him.

"Well, I was gonna save this news to surprise you guys later, but I got a call after lunch from that Chinese place again…they say we can come back this weekend if we'd like to." Mike said. The other three Monkees looked at each other for a brief moment.

"Is this what we've been reduced to? Trying to split a hundred bucks between the four of us every week _and_ keep the rent paid off?" Micky asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

Mike looked at the curly-headed drummer with a crestfallen expression, his shoulders slumped in defeat. He opened his mouth to reply but Peter spoke up before he could.

"Something good is gonna come our way soon, fellas. I just know it will."

"Right." Davy said sourly, skipping off the small stage in their living room to collapse on the couch with a magazine. Mike looked from him to Peter who was offering the other guitarist a hopeful smile. Micky finally stood up, feeling his throat tighten with emotion at the tension in the boy's beach pad. He glanced at Mike who was watching him for a reaction.

"I uh…I think I'm just gonna take a quick walk on the beach before it gets dark out. It might clear my head and give me some ideas on how to get us going…" Micky said softly as he turned and walked out the back door, leaving the bandmates to their own thoughts about what the future held for them.

* * *

Jeannie shook with visible sobs on the beach as she stared at the waves pounding on the shore in front of her. The beach traffic had ceased for the day and she was quite alone out in the sand. She watched as the sun dipped slowly toward the horizon, coloring the sky a beautiful purple. She smiled sadly at the sight of the growing sunset and then for good measure, she blinked once to cause the waves to pound the shore even more fiercely to match her mournful mood.

"I'm trying…I really am…" She muttered to herself sadly as she picked at the light pink flowy material of her pants. Another few tears slid down her rosy cheeks as she sniffled back a sob. "I just can't seem to help myself…"

"Hey…is something wrong?"

Jeannie jumped at the sudden voice behind her and she hastily wiped a hand underneath both of her eyes before turning to find who the voice belonged to.

"Oh…it's just…" Jeannie started to say softly. Her blue eyes lit upon the familiar face of the boy who had tripped on her picnic basket the day before. She stopped speaking as she noticed that his eyes held the same hopeless light in them that she was feeling. It was washed over quickly with recognition as he seemed to recognize her at the same exact moment because suddenly his face lit up with disbelief.

"It's you!" He said breathlessly. Jeannie frowned in confusion and then gave him a half-hearted smile as he sat down in the sand next to her. "Hey - you're not gonna believe this, but I've been out here looking for you all day!"

"Why would you do a thing like that?" Jeannie asked him, her own worries put aside for the moment with this strange boy's animated excitement. She crossed her arms over her knees and peered over at him curiously.

"Well, it was really more of a need-to-know kinda thing. You disappeared so quickly off the beach yesterday it had me a little stumped. So me and my bandmates kept an eye out for you all day today so I could ask you how you lugged all of that stuff off the beach so fast." He explained quickly. When he noticed her wide eyed expression, he immediately lowered his gaze to the ground in front of him and scratched at his messy curly hair sheepishly. "I know it's a weird thing to wonder about but I've had a lotta free time lately…which kinda makes me go a little crazy."

"No, you're not crazy...just…very perceptive." Jeannie said slowly. The boy smacked himself in the forehead playfully and then turned to her, offering his hand for her to shake.

"I'm Micky, by the way. Micky Dolenz." He said quickly. Jeannie looked at the boy, fearful that he had caught on to her 'abilities.' His brown eyes were bright and nothing but friendly as she slowly reached for his hand. His smile widened as she shook his hand.

"I'm Jeannie." She said, feeling her smile brighten her face once more.

"Hey, why were you crying?" Micky asked, seeming to speak as fast as the thoughts formed in his mind. Jeannie bit her lip as she took her hand out of his grasp and scooted a few inches away from him.

"Because I was sad…" Jeannie played it off as a joke. Micky smirked, but his eyes searched her for her real answer. After a few seconds of silence, he looked away from her and cleared his throat.

"I was kinda sad too just now. It's why I came out here on the beach…had to get away from the guys for a minute." He confessed. Jeannie looked up at him curiously.

"Away from your friends? Why is that?" She asked. He gave her a quick sideways glance and then shrugged.

"We're in kind of a standstill with our band right now. We aren't getting very many gigs and I'm afraid ultimately…that we might split up." His voice grew soft as he finished and Jeannie's heart wrenched for the poor boy who had seemed so much happier the day before.

"I had to get away too…" She started sadly as she looked at the few straggly clouds spattering the colorful sky in an attempt to see how she could form an explanation. Micky glanced over at her as she hesitated.

"It looks like you came from some kind of party. Was it not a good one?" He asked casually. Jeannie looked up at him hurriedly in confusion.

"Why do you say that?"

Micky gestured to her and she blinked thoughtfully before glancing down at herself and gasping out loud.

"Oh no!"

"What, what's wrong?!" Micky asked quickly, falling onto his side as Jeannie leapt to her feet. She had noticed that she was still in her genie's outfit and had instinctively crossed her arms and prepared to blink herself away from the scene. She froze and slowly looked down at Micky's flabbergasted expression, brown eyes wide and confused fear plastered on his face. Her heart hammered in her chest as the seconds seemed to freeze. If she blinked herself away from this moment, she very likely couldn't come back to it again. This boy, Micky, seemed to genuinely need her help…and with power such as she was possessed with, surely she could use it this one more time for good. She pursed her lips thoughtfully and then blinked the time back a few seconds to before she had overreacted.

"It looks like you came from some kind of party. Was it not a good one?" Micky asked Jeannie. She was once more sitting by his side in the sand and she glanced down at herself slowly before shrugging in response.

"Oh yes, it was a nice party…" She lied, playing with her ponytail nervously. "I had lots of fun…"

"Did everybody dress up like that?" Micky asked, slightly interested. Jeannie paused and then quickly decided to go along with her made up explanation. She nodded with a small smile.

"Yes. It was a costume party. Nearly everyone was dressed up." She said excitedly. Micky laughed at her enthusiasm.

"So is this where you ducked off to yesterday when you just disappeared?" He asked, bringing up the question she had hoped he had forgotten about. Jeannie's smile faltered for only half of a second and she nodded and gestured randomly over her shoulder.

"Yes, a friend of mine owns a place down the beach." She lied quickly. Micky nodded along with her explanation and then his eyes brightened.

"Hey, is there music at these parties?" He asked, his voice sounding suddenly thoughtful and serious. Jeannie shrugged and nodded again.

"Of course there's music. What other kind of entertainment would do?" She asked nonchalantly. Micky snapped his fingers and his face was bright with an idea that had surfaced in his head.

"Would your friend by any chance be in need of a band for their next party?" He asked quickly. Jeannie's mouth was an O of surprise and he mistook her expression because he quickly backed off. "I mean, I don't want to be pushy but I just thought I'd ask since you brought it up."

Jeannie studied Micky curiously for a moment and could see the light of hope in his eyes at the thought of resolving the conflict going on between he and his other three bandmates. After a brief moment Jeannie smiled at him and nodded.

"I would be happy to ask for you!" She said excitedly, pushing herself up off of the ground, Micky jumping to his feet after her.

"Thanks! Hey – wait! How will I find you again?!" He called after her from where she was already turning to fake walking away. She beamed back at him, feeling her excitement bubble up in her chest at the thought of helping the poor boy and his friends.

"Oh, I'll be around!" She called back to him with a playful wave. Micky stared after her for a few more moments before turning to head back the way he'd come. When Jeannie could see that his back was turned, she bit her lip at the thought of how she had abruptly left Major Nelson and Major Healey back at the hotel hours ago. She stood a little straighter as she blinked herself back to the hotel room, thinking about how eager she was to help out this band of boys. Surely Major Nelson would understand…


	6. The Hopeful Gig

"Jeannie! Where have you been?!" Tony Nelson turned away from the hotel room's window where he had been talking with Roger Healey, both of them looking extremely relieved at Jeannie's sudden reappearance.

"I'm sorry, Master darling, I just had to calm myself down." She apologized to him quickly. Tony smiled softly as he carefully wrapped his arms around her shoulders and squeezed her briefly.

"You had us really worried, Jeannie. You were gone for so long, we thought you weren't coming back for dinner." Roger said lightly, standing up from where he had been sitting in a peach colored armchair by the window. Jeannie smiled halfheartedly at him and then turned to look up at Tony with a hopeful gleam in her eyes.

"Master, I want to ask you something…"Jeannie began quickly, her thought running faster than she could speak. Tony nodded down to her and she hastily continued. "I was on the beach just now, and I bumped into one of those surfers from yesterday…"

"He saw you? Like this?" He gestured to her pink genie's outfit, his expression instantly serious once more. Jeannie nodded quickly and resumed her explanation.

"I convinced him that it was normal. That I had been at a costume party down the beach. He asked if his band could play at the next party…"

"The party that's nonexistent?" Tony said, studying her worriedly. Jeannie nodded hurriedly and he sighed and shook his head. "Oh Jeannie…"

"A costume party sounds fun." Roger said after a few seconds, sensing the tension in the room. Tony frowned at his colleague and then looked once more at Jeannie whose face was still hopeful.

"What do you want me to do about it, Jeannie?" He asked her softly when she was still staring silently up at him for his reaction. She blinked up at him and then proceeded to explain to him the despair she had sensed in Micky that evening.

"They're just four young teenagers in need of a push to get their band on its way, Anthony. Surely we can help them?" She pleaded.

"How?" Tony asked, confusedly. He glanced down at his watch and then back up at her. "Our first meeting is Saturday morning, our last free day is tomorrow and I don't think that's enough time to…you know…"

Jeannie's shoulders slumped only slightly and then the wheels in her mind started spinning once more.

"I could conjure up a party tomorrow afternoon for the boys to play at. And it would be over in plenty of time for you both to rest up and be ready for your meeting the next morning." Jeannie suggested. Tony and Roger looked at each other disapprovingly, but realized that whether or not they approved, she would most likely follow through with her plans either way.

"Alright then, Jeannie. Just tell us what you'll need us to do…" Tony said, his voice skeptical. Jeannie's eyes sparkled as she prepared to explain the newly thought idea to the two astronauts.

* * *

"Micky! It's almost dark out – where were you?" Mike asked as the curly headed drummer walked in the back door from his walk on the beach. He still had a thoughtful look on his face as he kicked his flip flops off by the door and turned to notice that Mike was the only one downstairs.

"I was out on the beach just now…and I finally ran into that mystery girl I've been chasing all day." He said nonchalantly. Mike raised an eyebrow as he took four bottles of soda out of the fridge and set them on the table.

"You did?" he asked, casting a worried look over at Micky as he approached the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, she was out there by herself…crying actually." Micky said distractedly, eyeing the sandwiches Mike was putting together for their dinner.

"Who was crying?" Davy asked, sliding down the stairs and landing on his feet with a small thud on the living room rug.

"The girl you saw yesterday? You found her?" Peter called down from the upstairs balcony. Micky nodded animatedly at the other two boys as they all gathered at the small kitchen table to eat.

"Why was she crying?" Davy asked again, throwing himself into his chair and popping open his bottle of soda pop.

"I…I dunno, actually. She didn't tell me." Micky said, frowning to himself thoughtfully.

"Well, what'd she say?" Mike asked, setting the sandwiches and potato chips on the table in front of the other three waiting boys.

"She mentioned something about how she had been to a friend's house down the beach. A party. With music." Micky said in between bites of his sub sandwich. The other three Monkees glanced up at him individually in silence over their sandwiches and chips, eyeing each other warily.

"Sounds groovy." Peter said supportively, taking a deep swig from his grape soda. Micky nodded to himself.

"Yeah…she said she might even get us a gig playing for her friend one night soon." Micky said, keeping his voice nonchalant. The other three Monkees froze in disbelief.

"R-Really?" Davy asked, surprise evident on his face. Micky nodded, swallowing the glob of sandwich in his mouth.

"Wow, Mick…are you sure this thing is really serious?" Mike asked in hopeful disbelief.

"Yeah…she's supposed to get back with me about the next gig sometime soon…" Micky started to explain.

"Wait, so she didn't give you her phone number or anything?" Davy asked, suddenly skeptical once more. Micky opened his mouth and then shut it quickly as a frown creased his forehead.

"Well, no…but…"

"Sounds like this girl might be a bit of a wack job…" Mike said under his breath lightly. Micky turned his frown to the taller Monkee and then scratched his head, puzzled.

"I'll admit it was a little odd…once she realized that we had a band and were in need of work, she had an immediate solution…"

"Yeah…this does sound a little fishy, Mick…" Peter said slowly.

"Are you sure she's not just interested because you're in a band?" Davy asked softly. "You know that happens to me with girls a lot…"

Micky shook his head firmly and tried to reason with his bandmates once more.

"Guys, maybe she's not interested in me personally, but I'm not thinking of me, I'm thinking of the four of us as a whole. How could we turn this possibility down…?"

Micky trailed off as a light knock sounded from the back door of the Monkees' pad. The four boys froze and stared at each other silently for a moment. When the knock sounded again a little louder, Micky slowly stood up from his chair at the dinner table. He could feel three pairs of eyes on his back as he walked to the back door. As his hand reached for the doorknob, his heart careened into this throat as the door swung open to reveal Jeannie's smiling face.

"Hello again, Micky!" She said softly, giggling at the boy's surprised expression. Micky felt his face turn hot as he stepped to the side and allowed Jeannie into the Monkees' pad.

"Hi Jeannie…" He said, dumbfounded. As he turned around, he could see that the other three boys were all still sitting frozen at the dinner table, eyes bulging in their sockets at the girl clad in pink. "We were…uh…just talking about you."

Jeannie grinned over at the other three Monkees who immediately leapt up from their seats to cross the room and greet her. Davy was the first to reach her and he took her hand in his and kissed it lightly.

"Hi…I'm David," He said in his best attempt to sound seductive. Jeannie giggled and then turned her attention to Mike, which caused Davy to step aside in bewilderment. Usually he had the ability to cause girls to have eyes only for him.

"Um…I'm Mike." The tall boy said awkwardly. Jeannie smiled sweetly up at him as he shook her hand. Peter peeked over Mike's shoulder shyly and then waved stiffly at her with a blush creeping over his dimpled cheeks.

"And this is Peter." Micky said after a moment, seeing that the blonde boy was struggling to form the words. Jeannie giggled and shook Peter's hand as well before stepping back to Micky's side.

"It's very nice to meet all of you!" She said excitedly. The other three boys mumbled awkwardly in reply and Jeannie's smile brightened. She turned to look back up at Micky who was looking at her expectantly. "I really hated to interrupt your dinner…but I have some good news for you boys, and it just couldn't wait another minute!"

"Did you get us the gig?" Peter asked quickly, all shyness apparently forgotten. Mike smacked him lightly in the back of the head, before turning equally eager eyes on Jeannie's response. She smirked and then nodded hastily.

"I talked to my Mas – to my friend and he said that you all could come and perform at the next party tomorrow afternoon!" She squealed excitedly. The four boys all cheered and hugged Jeannie tightly.

"Aww, you're the best Jeannie!" Micky said as the boys' cheers died down after a few seconds. "How did you get an answer so quickly?"

"Well…" Jeannie paused thoughtfully. "It sounded like you all really needed something rather quickly, so I convinced Anthony to hurry and put together another party as soon as possible. Is that enough time for you all to prepare?" Jeannie asked, suddenly worried.

"Sure! Yeah, that's plenty of time!" Mike said, gesturing at the small stage area behind her. "All we've gotta do is tune up our instruments and clean the dust off of them and we'll be there!"

"Oh, wonderful!" Jeannie said, clapping her hands in excitement. "I had better get back to help with my own preparations! I will send transportation for you and your things tomorrow around lunch so you will have time to set up!"

"Wait! That's not really –" Mike began but Davy quickly shushed him as Jeannie headed for the door.

"This must be some party if she's gonna provide our own transportation!" The English boy murmured, clearly impressed.

"C-can we ask you to stay for dinner, Jeannie? I hate for you to have to walk all that way back down the beach in the dark…" Micky asked quickly, stopping Jeannie at the door. "I could walk you back after….or uh…you know…we could _all_ drive you back…"

The other three boys were eyeing the drummer with silent envy as Jeannie smiled sweetly up at him before patting him fondly on the cheek.

"No thank you, it isn't necessary." She said. Jeannie grinned and waved at the other three boys who immediately straightened up their narrowed expressions. "Goodnight boys! See you tomorrow!"

As the door shut on the girl and Micky started to move back to the dinner table, all four of the Monkees began to talk at once.

"How in the _world_ did a girl like _that_ end up being our ticket to the land of opportunity?" Davy asked, eyes wide and shining with hope.

"The gig hasn't happened yet, Davy." Mike said slowly, but even his face was aglow with new light.

"I told you she was real." Peter quipped before Micky rolled his eyes and sat down to join them at the table to resume their dinner.

" _I_ told you she was real." Micky corrected.


	7. Questions

**So, in this chapter I dive slightly into the Monkees' past a bit and a few of the trials they faced in some of the episodes of the show. Just want to throw it in there that I don't own any of that content. Thanks for reading so far, and please leave a review of how you think things are going with the story! :D**

"Everything go okay? How did they take the news?" Tony asked as soon as Jeannie had popped back into the hotel room where the two astronauts were waiting impatiently for her return. Jeannie squealed with excitement as she leapt into Major Nelson's arms.

"Oh Master! This party is going to mean so much to them! I'm so happy you agreed to help me!" Jeannie cried as she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey, we enjoyed parties in our younger days too, Jeannie!" Roger said playfully.

"Right, before we had to straighten up and get serious for NASA." Tony said jokingly. Roger smirked.

"What they don't know doesn't hurt them. If they knew how I still spent some of my weekends…" He trailed off with an eyebrow raise at Jeannie's condescending look.

"We must focus on the task at hand Major Healey!" She ordered lightly. "Now…I will need appetizers, punch, and oh! Should we have chicken or sandwiches for the main course?"

"Jeannie…" Tony said softly to her, breaking her out of counting out her list on her fingers. "First of all, maybe we should focus on exactly _where_ we're going to have this party tomorrow…"

Jeannie looked up at him carefully and then scrunched her face in thought. After a moment she shook herself out of her daze.

"Why, we could have it here of course!"

"Here? As it, at the hotel?" Roger asked. "I don't think these kids sound classy enough for this place…"

"What do you mean, Major Healey?" Jeannie asked, worry creasing her brow. The man instantly tried to shrug his way out of it.

"I just meant that…well…"

"Have you even heard these boys play yet?" Tony interrupted him, staring Jeannie down seriously. Jeannie pursed her lips innocently.

"Well… _no_ …but I'm sure that they are very good!" She said. "They're passionate about what they do. At least, Micky seemed to be. I just met the other three boys hurriedly a few moments ago." She explained with a quick smile.

"I don't know, Jeannie…" Tony said. Jeannie took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly.

"Oh come on now, Master…surely there is a ballroom or something we could borrow for the afternoon…just for a little while so that the boys can play for a crowd!"

"I think I did see something like that on the brochure I was looking at on the plane this morning…" Roger said helpfully. Tony gave him an annoyed glance and then wearily nodded.

"I'll call about reserving it as soon as we get back from dinner." He said. He eyed Jeannie with a serious glance. "Now what are we going to do about getting some people in to attend this party?"

"I will handle that! I could invite all of the big movie stars that live here in California! It will be a very large party! Let's see…do you think the Beatles would mind too terribly if I blinked them here to attend?" Jeannie asked firstly. Tony and Roger gaped at the girl with dumbfounded expressions.

"C-Could you really do that?" Roger asked. Jeannie grinned widely.

"Of course she could," Tony answered for her slowly. "We just need to make sure they're not needed wherever it is that they are for tomorrow night…"

"Of course." Jeannie said playfully, winking at Roger who straightened his tie.

"Wow, if you bring the Beatles, I'm sure that their fangirls will all come along too… there won't be a shortage of girls at this party!" Roger exclaimed. Jeannie laughed lightly.

"But, won't a big group like that overtake the publicity you're trying to gain these Monkees, Jeannie?" Tony asked her. Jeannie paused thoughtfully.

"Oh but I _want_ the public to come out to see them!" Jeannie persisted. Tony shrugged.

"Okay…I'm just warning you…if the Beatles do get involved, it'll probably be a little chaotic…"

"That's an understatement." Roger scoffed. Jeannie looked between the two astronauts, biting her lip worriedly.

"Well, if you think it's best not to use the Beatles…" Jeannie said softly, crossing out that idea in her mind. Tony inwardly sighed in relief while Roger groaned in slight disappointment.

"Maybe these guys can attract some fangirls too." Roger said to himself, causing Tony to roll his eyes amusedly at his friend.

"Well how about for now, we go and get some dinner? It's getting kinda late." Tony said, looking down at his watch.

"Oh yeah…hey! I saw this neat-looking restaurant down the street a few blocks when the cab brought me to the hotel earlier. Why don't we go try that out?" Roger suggested, rubbing his hands together hungrily. Jeannie smiled and blinked herself into a light blue evening dress and pumps to match, with a curly hairstyle teased and pinned perfectly on her head. Tony smiled approvingly at her quick change and then offered her his arm.

"Let's go on then. Sounds like we've got a lot of planning to do." He said with a smile. Jeannie's eyes twinkled with excitement as the three headed out of the hotel room, the gears already moving as she plotted out how the Monkees could make a debut in their career.

* * *

"What songs should we start off with, do you think?" Micky asked, crouching over the blank sheet of paper he had spread across his drum head. "I really like _Steppin' Stone_ …"

"That could be a good one to start off on." Mike said, nodding thoughtfully as Micky quickly scribbled down the beginning of their song list. He plucked at his guitar strings thoughtfully. "Maybe follow that up with _The Door Into Summer…_ "

"We absolutely have to do _I'm A Believer._ You know that one will get us some good reviews." Davy said, spinning his tambourine around on his finger.

"What about some new songs? Some that we don't play as often?" Peter asked quietly. Micky raised an eyebrow at the blonde boy over his furious scribbling.

"Like which ones?"

"Well, what about that new one you've been working on lately, Micky? I've heard you playing around with it in between practices and it sounds pretty neat so far." Peter said. Micky chewed thoughtfully on his pen and shook his head dismissively.

"Nah, I don't think it's quite time to release that one yet. I haven't had enough time to work the kinks out of it, you know..." Micky said slowly.

"What kind of a crowd do you think Jeannie is gonna have for us?" Davy piped up questioningly. "It's a little hard to create a songlist for a crowd we don't know anything about…"

"Yeah…that does make it kinda tough…" Mike admitted. "But I guess we'll just wing it and trust what she's doing."

"Yeah, nothing else we _can_ do." Micky said.

"Don't you think this is all a little odd?" Davy asked again, crossing his arms across his chest with his tambourine resting over his elbow.

"Think what's odd?" Peter asked.

"Well, how this thing just popped up outta nowhere. Jeannie didn't even exist in our world before today really, and she automatically had a solution for our band problem. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful and all but it just seems a little too good to be true." Davy said.

The other three Monkees were silent and thoughtful as they processed the boy's words. Sure, they had all been on numerous oddball adventures over the few years they had been together, some even taking strange turns that endangered their lives. But recently, after the boys had overtaken the hypnotizing effect of the Frodis that had threatened the city, nothing had happened. None of the boys were pulled into strange plots from kidnappers, robbers, or gypsies, none of their recent girlfriends had turned out to be spies or vampires, and even their landlord, Mr. Babbit had eased up on them for the moment since they had been out of work for the past several weeks.

"You think this is going to turn into one of those things?" Peter asked after a moment. Davy pursed his lips and shrugged, causing the tambourine in his hand to jingle softly.

"You never know." Davy murmured.

"Well if it does, we'll get to go down doing what we love, won't we?" Micky stood up from his drumset defiantly. "Let's take this chance while we've got it, guys. We might not get another one like it anytime soon."

"Micky's right…we shouldn't second guess ourselves just because of the trials we've all faced in the past. We've made it this long, then hey, maybe we're _meant_ to continue playing music together." Mike shrugged thoughtfully. Davy, Peter and Micky regarded the tall boy's words for a moment before looking to each other and nodding in agreement.

"I guess we'd better figure up the rest of this playlist and get to practicing if we've gotta be ready by tomorrow afternoon!" Davy said, smacking his tambourine to rouse the other three Monkees back into action.

"How about we do a little _Daydream Believer_ once we get the crowd hyped up to slow things down a bit? I think that'd go over well for a slow dance." Micky suggested, situating himself back down behind his drums.

"Yeah, that'd be great! Then we've gotta do some _Papa Gene's Blues_ …I love that song! That'd get people singing along, for sure!" Mike said, his excitement building up with the other three boys' song planning. Once they had a decent songlist mapped out, they could get started on tuning up their equipment and charging up their voices in preparation for their big night.


	8. Hurried Preparation

**I know it's a short chapter, but like I mentioned at the beginning, I'm working two jobs and at the moment I don't have much time to write at the moment. I do want to promise that I've spent a good deal of time this afternoon on the next chapter, so keep an eye out for that one next week. Thanks for reading and please leave a review! :D**

Well…it looks like there's no renting that ballroom downstairs for tomorrow. Receptionist says it's been booked for months now." Tony said, after hanging up the phone. The three of them had just gotten back from an excitable dinner downtown where Jeannie talked nearly the entire time about the many party dishes and decorations she could conjure up for the Monkees' big party. Jeannie who had been perched on the bed right beside Tony slumped back dejectedly upon hearing Tony's news. Roger, sitting casually laid back in the armchair by the bed raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

"You're kidding." Roger said.

"No, the woman was very blunt about it." Tony said, biting his lip as he looked over for Jeannie's reaction. Instead of looking upset, her expression was pondering. Tony turned himself to where he could see her laying back on the comforter, forcing her to look up at him. "Now, Jeannie, don't go thinking you can just blink these people who rented the ballroom away or anything like that. I know that look of yours."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of doing anything like that, Master," Jeannie reassured him quickly. "I am merely trying to think of where else we could move the party to."

"We could have it on the beach." Roger offered as an idea. Tony looked over at his friend questioningly. Roger shrugged. "I mean, I know it's kind of a private beach but maybe there's someone we could talk to about reserving a spot for us. Jeannie could blink up a stage for the boys to play on and then maybe some tables and disco lights, the whole deal. You could do that, couldn't you Jeannie?"

Jeannie sat up after a moment, a bright smile on her face. Her eyes were distant as she tried to picture Major Healey's idea and then she raised her finger to her lips chewing on it thoughtfully.

"I suppose that would be really nice…" She said slowly, thinking.

"But, will the boys be okay with that idea?" Tony asked worriedly. "I mean, I wouldn't go to concert on the beach necessarily…"

"You would if you were still a teenager." Roger said lightly. "The kids these days don't care where the parties are."

"You are definitely right, Major Healey," Jeannie said. "And since my childhood, times have changed even more drastically than I'm sure it has for you both. We used to have our parties in grand palaces…"

Jeannie paused in thought and after a few moments, Tony waved a hand in front of her face where her eyes had gone blank. She stood as still as a statue for the length of time it took both Tony and Roger to glance confusedly at each other and then she leapt up from the bed altogether, startling the two men.

""I know exactly where we are going to host the Monkees' party tomorrow!"

* * *

 _"…_ _And take a giant step outside your mind…"_

As the music faded out on their instruments, the four Monkees all seemed to yawn one after the other, listening to the silence that followed, imagining a cheering crowd responding to the ending of their song.

"Okay, let's do another round…" Mike suggested quickly, hardly giving the other three boys a chance to rest. Davy let out another heavy yawn that ended in a groan.

"It's been over three hours, Mike! Can't we have a break?"

"Davy's right. It's almost 10:30…" Peter said after glancing at his watch.

"I'm with Mike, guys. We need practice if we're really gonna get up in front of a whole crowd of people to play tomorrow afternoon…" Micky started. Mike nodded, looking smartly between the other two boys as Micky continued. "But what use are we gonna be if we stay up all night like this?"

Mike wiped the snarky look off of his face to flash a surprised glance at the drummer behind him. He cleared his throat sheepishly and then shrugged, slipping out from under his guitar strap.

"I guess Micky's right…we'll start again bright and early in the morning though. I want to get in another good few hours of practice before Jeannie sends for us."

"Do you think we'll get a limo?" Peter asked hopefully. Davy rolled his eyes at the blonde boy.

"Where is all of our equipment going to go in a limo, Peter?" The shorter boy asked sarcastically. Peter shrugged, not letting Davy's snide remarks get him down.

"Let's not fight about it tonight, fellas, let's get ready for bed. That's the only thing that'll make tomorrow come any faster." Mike said as he unplugged the large amp speakers.

"Not that making it come faster is exactly a good thing…" Micky murmured to himself, suddenly nervous. It had been quite a while since the Monkees had performed in front of a willing audience and Micky's excitement over Jeannie's offer had masked his uncertainty. What if no one liked their music? Worse yet…what if their playing caused Jeannie's friend's guests to leave?

As Micky got ready for bed along with the others, more and more questions popped into his mind.

Firstly, why had Jeannie been so eager to help them out of their slump after just meeting him? He had barely finished introducing himself to her before she had worked his life story out of him and offered to help them build up their band's popularity. And then there was the odd magic she had seemed to work over Mike, Davy and Peter as well…Before she had showed up on their back doorstep that night, they had been totally against his explanation of her. But the instant she had walked into the room and told them about the gig opportunity, they had all been eagerly on board. Micky shook himself as he forced himself out of his worries, deciding to do as he had suggested the others do, and not question the good thing that had been handed to them.

* * *

"And maybe – just for show, really, and also to go along with the costume party's theme – we could have some camels, horses and even a few elephants…" Jeannie trailed off, pacing in front of the bed in the hotel room where two figures were slumped over in exhaustion.

"Elephants in California?" Roger mumbled sleepily over the pillow he had rested his head on. Tony merely murmured something indifferently and yawned behind his fist as he blinked tiredly up at Jeannie's thoughtful pacing.

"Don't get too crazy with it, Jeannie. You know you're doing this for those boys, not just for yourself." Tony said softly. Jeannie stopped her pacing and hung her head slightly as she turned to face the two weary astronauts.

"I know that, Master, but I just want everything to be perfect and exciting enough to draw a crowd for them to play their music for. Over dinner tonight, you both talked me out of blinking the celebrity guests there tomorrow afternoon, so now I have to come up with something else." Jeannie said, planting her hands on her hips.

"A party on the beach, who's _not_ going to come?" Roger asked sarcastically. "That should draw enough of a crowd for them, don't you think, Tony?"

"I think we're worrying a little too much about this, Jeannie, it's getting kinda late…" Tony said, nodding at Roger's point. Jeannie pursed her lips as she glanced at the clock reading the late hour.

"Well, I suppose you both should get some rest…" She said lightly, much to the men's relief. "But I will be up planning some more if you think of anything else while you're asleep!"

"Sure thing, Jeannie." Roger pushed himself up off of the bed and grabbed his uniform jacket from the armchair as he headed for the door. "But I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. Not much help in my dreams, I'm afraid. Goodnight now!"

"Goodnight, Roger." Tony said, yawning as the other man shut the door to their hotel room as he headed to his own room down the hall. Tony stood up from the bed and stretched.

"I will move to my bottle for the night so that my planning won't disturb you, Master." Jeannie said softly, smiling up at Tony's exhausted face. Tony scratched the back of his head thoughtfully.

"Just…whatever you do have planned...you can't let anyone know you're anything other than just a plain girl who wants to help those boys with their band, okay? That's mainly my biggest worry about this whole thing, Jeannie."

Jeannie patted his face reassuringly and offered him another sweet smile. She stood on her tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on his lips before she replied.

"I'll be careful, Master. I promise you." She said. His face relaxed only slightly as Jeannie blinked, turning herself into a pillar of bright pink smoke that faded into her bejeweled bottle that was sitting on the dresser behind her.


	9. Nightmares

Micky lay awake in his twin bed for a long time listening to the steady, quiet breathing of his sleeping bandmates whom he shared the room with. So far he had been unable to sleep, thinking only of what the next day held for the four of them.

Micky had run away from home at a very young age, and by some trick of fate, he had bumped into Mike who had been playing solo at a local club in California. After he had finished for the night, Micky had been eager to speak to the tall, talented guy, with hopes that he could try out starting a band with him.

Upon reassuring him that he could play guitar as well, Mike had been lenient to try him out on their next little gig. Two guys playing guitars together on the stage didn't seem to be enough to the both of them so they decided to look around and see if they could find a few other voices to join them. When Peter had shown up, also only being skilled on guitar, Micky had decided to go out on a limb and try to learn to play the drums. After a while, he had a pretty good handle on them, and they played a few gigs now and then for fun trying to find their musical sound. Then Davy had come along, and their quartet had been complete.

Micky smiled sleepily at the memory and felt his eyes finally start to droop with exhaustion.

Things had been slow in the musical business for the four Monkees and they usually got grief for even being in the rock-and-roll profession. Because so many people were trying to reach that same goal of becoming famous musicians, it made it hard for the four boys to get anywhere with their own band. At one point they had even tried their hands at becoming actors but, with their luck, that dream too was foiled.

But this gig that Jeannie had put together for the boys was going to be a good one. It would either be the one they were remembered for, or the one that broke the Monkees up for good. Micky winced behind his closed eyelids as he thought of the latter possibility. Jeannie wouldn't let that happen, he somehow thought. She seemed to be a pretty driven girl, and though the strange demeanor of her presence there on the beach had been too good to be true, Micky trusted her. Her friendly nature and desire to help them had triggered a hopefulness in him that he had thought he'd thrown out long ago.

As he felt himself drifting off, he could envision himself playing the drums, with Mike in front of him to his right and Peter to his left, with Davy singing his heart out in the center of the stage. A huge crowd of people sang along with their music, shrieking excitedly the encouragements the boys needed to keep playing.

Micky glanced over to his right where the curtains concealed the edge of the stage and he could see Jeannie standing there, her hands clasped in front of her with excitement and a huge smile plastered on her sweet, round face. Micky smiled at her as he sang and then suddenly the drumsticks disappeared from his hands and his fists struck the drumhead in front of him sharply. He glanced down hurriedly at his bare palms, the beating of his drums now silenced. The sounds of both Mike's and Peter's guitars let out a shrill twinge and then their playing broke off as well. Davy whirled around in confusion as his voice cracked and Micky could see that both Peter and Mike had turned to face him too, their guitars fading from existence in their arms. Micky gasped sharply as the large drumset in front of him started to fade and he threw himself forward to hold onto the drum heads and cymbals. When his hands fell through them, he landed painfully on the wood of the stage, Mike, Peter and Davy's voices of confusion and anger falling over him. Micky covered his face fearfully as the crowd in front of them started laughing at their seemingly usual Monkees' antics. Micky glanced pleadingly up to where Jeannie still stood backstage, a look of indifference on her face. She waved sadly at him and then she too slowly faded from his sight.

"No! You can't just leave us! Jeannie, what's going on?!" Micky cried. Jeannie's silhouette vanished completely and with her, the mocking crowd. Micky looked out at the empty seats, the instant silence now overwhelming. The other three Monkees glanced up too, looks of disbelief on their faces as they all stared out at the empty room.

"What did we think would happen, that we'd become big stars?" Davy asked sourly after a few moments.

"Let's face it, we were failures from the start…" Mike said softly, taking his wool hat off of his head and fiddling with it absentmindedly. "It just took us this long to actually realize it."

"I guess this means we're done, then huh?" Peter asked, kicking at the ground and putting his hands in his pockets sadly.

"It was nice that you tried, Micky. Really." Mike said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder from where he still crouched on the ground in a broken heap. Soon, even the feeling of Mike's hand on his shoulder caused Micky to look up through tear-filled eyes. He was alone on the stage, his bandmates having disappeared from his side as well.

* * *

"Jeannie, wake up! Are you still in there?!"

Jeannie was startled awake suddenly at her master's loud, frantic voice above her. She looked around at the interior of her bottle, where papers and photos of her party ideas were strewn among the pillows. She had fallen asleep in the middle of her planning.

She blinked quickly and, skipping her usual pink smoke entrance, she was instantly at Tony's side where he had thrown his uniform on, clearly in a hurry.

"We overslept!" He said worriedly. Jeannie was immediately in a rush as she opened the hotel room's door and began hammering on the door to Roger's room.

"Major Healey! Please wake up! Hurry!" She cried.

"It's almost eleven, Jeannie! You have to have the boys picked up for their setup and practice, don't you?!" Tony reminded her quickly.

"Yes! And I had an idea about how I was going to do it, but I…I can't remember it!" Jeannie cried, pressing her hands to her face nervously.

"Just send them a cab or something!" Roger said, emerging from his own room, in the middle of buttoning up his jacket.

"But that's not what I had planned!" She said quickly, moaning in her panic.

"Jeannie, we don't have time for your perfections, where did you decide the party was even going to be?" Tony asked her.

Jeannie's hands turned to fists and she blinked quickly to silence the numerous panicked questions that were being hurled at her. Time stopped and she was left standing in the center of Major Nelson's hotel room, both of the astronauts standing on either side of her in mid-sentence, their faces drawn with frantic worry.

"Alright…I just need to breathe…" Jeannie said softly to herself, inhaling deeply to calm her nerves. "I was almost done with my planning last night when I fell asleep…I just need to remember what how far I had gotten…"

She tapped a finger over her lips and paced a few times in front of the two frozen astronauts thoughtfully. After a moment she stopped and turned to look at her small pink bottle still sitting idly on the dresser. She blinked and transported herself back to the safety of her bottle and started sifting hurriedly through the scattered pictures and notes on her bed.

Snapshots that merchants had taken of her and her family long ago at elegant palaces and foreign parties were strewn about and she picked each one of them up gently so she wouldn't damage the delicate material the photos had been printed on thousands of years ago. In them, she could glimpse the endless banquet tables, herds of animals and bejeweled party guests. She smiled at her unaging face and expressions and touched the smooth surface of the most recent snapshot taken nearly 2,000 years ago in Tibet. That was before the Blue Djinn had found her and trapped her in her bottle, from which she had been unable to escape from until Major Nelson had released her.

"Oh yes…those certainly were the days." She murmured softly to herself, her eyes misting up emotionally as she recounted the centuries she had been trapped in the small bottle she was standing inside now. While she spent those many years in solitude she had only her memories to keep her company and from all of that time spent recounting them, she had developed a very good sense of remembering things.

Jeannie took a deep breath to calm herself once more, and blinked quickly, this time transporting herself to the spot on the beach where she had met Micky the night before. She looked around ponderingly at the very few people that had flocked to the shore that morning, seeing that they were all frozen in whatever activity they had been partaking in when Jeannie had stopped time. Some people were in beach chairs watching their children as they played in the shallow waves while a lone surfer was frozen on the peak of a wave out in the distance. Jeannie even spotted a statuesque couple walking their dog along the shoreline, where a small flock of seagulls had been disturbed by the canine's presence, frozen in their flight to get away from it. She smiled at the still, nearly empty beach and then turned to survey the area in the sand around her.

After a moment spent in thoughtful silence, Jeannie folded her arms in front of her, pursed her lips and blinked abruptly, bringing the location of the Monkees' party to existence and unfreezing time.

A fabulous tent, the size one might see in the midst of a circus filled the large empty space up near the dunes. The fabric of the tent was colored with bright yellows and greens with bright red flags that trailed in the light ocean breeze. A petting zoo of sorts took up a small space outside the tent with animal handlers offering the donkeys, camels and horses their food and water. Jeannie bit her lip as she examined the exterior of the place and then she blinked herself inside to begin the preparations for the interior.


	10. The Pickup and Arrival

**Sorry for the short chapter this week, but I've been super busy again. I'm going to get a little break this coming week and I'll hopefully get a chance to write some more on my nights off. Let me know how the story's going so far, I'd really like some feedback! Enjoy! :)**

"Micky, come on and wake up! We need to get practicing before we have to leave!"

Davy's voice roused Micky from his nightmare-riddled slumber and the curly-headed boy slowly dragged himself out of bed to find that the room was empty once Davy had walked out of it. Micky glanced at the alarm clock next to his bed and saw that it was already after ten in the morning. He fumbled to pull on some clean clothes and then slid down the stair railing to see that the other three Monkees were already tuning up their instruments for a last minute practice before Jeannie sent for them and their things.

"Glad you decided to join us." Mike said to him with a weary smirk. He thumbed over his shoulder at the kitchen table where a few pancakes and strips of bacon were waiting on a plate for him. "You kinda missed breakfast, but I guess you can heat it up once we practice a few songs."

"Thanks…" Micky said, shoving his fingers into his hair to try and calm it down to its usual curliness. He took his seat behind his drums and picked up his sticks carefully, his terrifying dreams from the night before still vivid in his mind. He played around on his drumheads for a few minutes as the other three boys warmed up their voices and instruments for their quick practice.

 _"I thought love was only true in fairy tales…"_ Micky started to sing as his bandmates struck up the beginning of one of their favorite songs. Before they could reach the last chorus, they were interrupted by a sharp knock on their door.

"Hold on second, guys…" Mike said as he broke off the last chord on his guitar. He unplugged it from the amp beside him and crossed the room anxiously to answer the door.

"Gee…if that's Jeannie already sending for us…" Davy murmured glancing down at his watch. "She's a little early…it's not quite 11 yet. Didn't she say noon?"

"If I remember right, yeah." Micky said, biting his lip worriedly. Mike threw one last glance over his shoulder at his bandmates and then opened the door.

"Oh, hello Mr. Babbit…would you like to come in?" Mike asked, his voice instantly turning higher pitched and involuntarily innocent. The Monkees' landlord pushed himself into the boy's pad and looked down his nose at where the other three teens were in their places with their instruments.

"Little early to be practicing, isn't it, boys?" He asked skeptically. "Business picking up again?"

"Uh…well, not exactly…" Mike said from the man's left. Mr. Babbit raised an eyebrow at the nervous boy and crossed his arms in front of his chest critically.

"Oh no?" He said. Mike looked at the ground and scratched his ear as he fumbled for a response.

"We've just got a small gig this afternoon…it's nothing major, just a little something a friend cooked up for us." Micky said softly. Mr. Babbit swung his gaze over to the drummer and sniffed.

"Well that's just wonderful, isn't it?" He said, his voice dripping slightly with sarcasm. "Where is this gig going to be?"

"Oh well, we don't exactly…"

"It's down the beach. You know, that little place over a few miles that way…" Micky pointed, interrupting Mike.

"Lots of people…" Davy added, nodding casually.

"Oh really?" Mr. Babbit said, eyeing each of the boys questioningly. "A buddy of mine owns a place down that way, what did you say it was called?"

"It's not the one you're thinking of..." Micky started quickly, his improvisation skills instantly leaping into action. "It's…someplace new."

"Yeah, we hadn't even heard of it before yesterday." Mike said seriously. Mr. Babbit's eyebrows knit together in thought. His gaze darted between each of the boys as they spoke, and finally he shook his head with a smirk.

"You kids don't have anything planned, do you?"

"No, we do…I know it sounds like we don't, but we really do…" Micky said, trailing off.

"Would we be rehearsing if we didn't?" Davy argued with a slight pout.

"Right." Mr. Babbit said, his smirk etched deeply into his face.

"Uh, hello? Is this where we pick up some Monkees?"

The four boys all turned to see a newcomer standing in the open doorway, a short man in vintage looking Arabian clothing. He smiled sheepishly at the confused expressions that faced him.

"Who are you?" Mr. Babbit asked for the boys. The man stood up straighter and bowed slightly forward.

"My name is Adiba and I am here to take the Monkees to their party." He said, once he had finished his polite bow.

"Oh, Jeannie sent you?" Mike asked, relieved at not having to answer to any more of their landlord's bombardment. The costumed man nodded once more with a polite smile.

"We'll be right out!" Peter called to him excitedly, turning to begin putting his guitar in the case by his side. Adiba nodded and then turned to leave the boys to their hurried packing. Mr. Babbit was silent for a moment as the Monkees ignored his presence in the haste of gathering their instruments and equipment.

"Well uh…Maybe now you'll be able to catch up a bit on your rent payments." He finally said, a dumbfounded look replacing the scowl on his face.

"Yeah, well, we really appreciate the loan you've been giving us these past few weeks, Mr. Babbit." Davy said, trying to get on the landlord's good side.

"No one else would be as generous as you've been toward us. You're a really good guy, caring about our situation and all." Peter added with a wide smile. Mr. Babbit raised his usual snarl upward into a half smirk.

"Yeah, yeah…" He said. "Just hope it goes well for you boys. I'll expect to hear all about it when you bring me my check over the weekend."

The boys all smiled sheepishly at the man as he gave a little wave and let himself out, Mike following close behind him. As soon as the door closed behind him, Mike leaned against it and stared his fellow bandmates down with a worried expression.

"We've really gotta put our all into the performance this afternoon, guys." He said seriously.

"You know we will." Micky said as he clicked his drum case shut. "We always put our heart into everything."

"Would you be needing any assistance, Monkees?" Adiba asked, peeking into the pad once the landlord had left.

"Oh…sure, man. Here, these are ready to go, I think." Mike said, handing both his and Peter's guitar cases to the waiting man. "Hey, that's a neat costume you have on there. I'm guessing the party is Arabian Nights themed again tonight?"

"Oh…yes sir." The man said with a wink, bowing absently as he took the heavy guitar cases from the taller boy.

"Cool!" Peter said. "This reminds me of the time you were going to marry that princess, Davy!"

"Yeah…" Davy said, shaking his head at the memory. "I didn't really like the fact that, like any other adventure we've had, the relatives just wanted to have us all killed, though."

"Hey, we've already established that this isn't going to turn out to be one of _those_ things! Don't worry!" Micky said, clapping a hand on the shorter boy's shoulder as he passed by carrying two of his drums in their cases. As he turned his back on the other three boys to follow Adiba out to the waiting car, his hopeful smile faded slightly as he recalled the worries that had caused his nightmare the night before. He had only a few seconds to dwell on it before he rounded the corner and could see the form of their transportation.

A large extravagantly decorated wagon sat before him with two large horses standing impatiently tethered to a nearby street sign. Adiba was just stepping down from placing their guitar cases in the back and he laughed joyfully as he noticed Micky's stunned reaction. He met Micky and took his drums from him with a knowing smirk.

"Jeannie said you would be surprised!" He laughed, nudging Micky out of his daze.

"Hey Micky, do you want to bring these new drumsticks just in case, or are you…oh _, wow_ …." Davy said, stopping as he reached Micky's side. The two horses whinnied and stomped impatiently, giving off a light tinkling noise from the golden bells that lined their halters. They both even turned to see Davy as the shorter boy immediately walked over to them. Adiba laughed at the boy's reaction and began telling him about the animals as Micky turned back to quickly retreat into the Monkees' pad.

"Uh…Mike…?" Micky said, trying to once more shake himself out of his stunned daze.

"Yeah, Mick? You almost ready?" Mike replied, lifting his amp into his arms with a grunt.

"She sent a horse-drawn carriage for us."

"A what?" Mike followed Micky as he beckoned him outside to see where Davy was still in deep conversation with Adiba about the horses. Mike set his amp down on the sidewalk outside and put his hands on his hips thoughtfully.

"Don't you think this is pretty realistic for a party?" Micky asked him. Mike shrugged after a moment and then stooped to pick up the amp and head for the wagon.

"If Jeannie's friend has enough money for an extravagant party and details like this, then surely there will be a large crowd there!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but…" Micky trailed off hesitantly, watching as Mike headed towards the driver and Davy who seemed to be in the process of talking Adiba into letting him ride one of the horses.

"Man, we didn't get to rehearse for the rehearsal! We'd better get going, Micky!" Peter said as he rushed past the drummer carrying a microphone stand under each of his arms. Micky stood where he was for another few moments, pondering the thoughts that were overloading his mind.

"Well…what if this actually _does_ turn into one of those things?" Micky murmured under his breath worriedly.

* * *

As the carriage rolled to a slow halt on the side of the street a mile or so down the beach, the four Monkees looked around in confusion.

"Hey, Adiba? Where are we?" Davy asked skeptically as he looked around at the busy section of town where a large hotel and trinket shops were lining the street.

"This is where Miss Jeannie instructed me to bring you all." Adiba said cheerfully. He leapt down from his driver's seat and grabbed for the horses' reins.

"There's Jeannie!" Peter said, pointing in relief at where a bright flash of pink had appeared from the side of the hotel. She was grinning from ear to ear as she skipped over to meet them.

Oh good, you're all here!" Jeannie exclaimed as the four Monkees hopped down from Abida's wagon, catching interested glances from the few people by on the streets. Jeannie leapt forward and hugged each of them excitedly as Adiba began to move the boy's instruments and equipment down to the sidewalk from the gold – rimmed wagon.

"Yeah, here we are! Hey…uh that was a really nice ride you got us…where did you come up with…?" Micky started to ask, but Jeannie immediately turned her head and gestured for the boys to follow her back the way she had come.

"We must get you all set up! Come with me!" Jeannie said quickly. Micky and Mike glanced at each other in surprise before looking back to where Adiba had hopped back down from the wagon where he had stacked the boy's equipment neatly on the sidewalk. The man waved them onward with a large smile.

"I will take care of this, don't worry!" He said. The boy's hurried to follow the excited blonde, and as they rounded to building they found a beach access point trailing down the side of the hotel.

"We're performing on the beach…" Davy said in awe as the boys struggled to keep Jeannie's pink form in their sights from where she was hurrying down the path.

"I've always wanted to do that!" Peter added.

"What's that?" Mike asked, squinting as they finally had a clear view of the beach and ocean.

A huge, brightly colored tent took up several yards of the upper side of the beach, and the place was already surrounded with people, all in costumes that went along with the party's Arabian Nights theme. The four boys paused at the sight, seeing animals, colors and smelling the delicious food coming from inside the place.

"This isn't just some little costume party…" Mike said slowly.

"No…no it's not…" Micky said, hugging his arms to himself as his nerves welled up once more.

"Will you silly boys hurry? There's so much I want to show you before we get you set up!" Jeannie called from the end of the beach ramp, her hands on her hips teasingly. The Monkees all resumed jogging down towards her where she laughed at their overwhelmed expressions.

"Jeannie, you really went out of your way to do all this…are you sure we're the kinda band you need for this?" Mike asked her. Jeannie giggled.

"Of course! This is all yours! Now come on, so I can give you the grand tour!"

Jeannie whirled around as she led the boys to the large brightly colored tent, and halted as two uniformed men emerged from the interior.

"Oh no…Mr. Babbit called ahead of us! He's already sent the army after us to get our rent money for the past few months!" Mike said dramatically to the other three boys. They hung back warily as Jeannie met the two men.

"You all must be the Monkees…" The taller man said as he stepped forward to offer the boys his hand in greeting. Micky hesitantly reached out to shake the man's hand and smiled at him nervously.

"Yes sir…" He said. The man nodded curtly with a smile and gestured to his side where Jeannie was beaming at the boy's reactions.

"Jeannie's told us a lot about you boys. I'm Major Anthony Nelson and this is Major Roger Healey. It's nice to finally meet you. Jeannie's been very excited about this."

"Yeah…we can tell." Mike said as he too shook Tony's hand, slightly less on edge.

"This is really amazing…" Davy said, gesturing around at the grand location of their party. "How long have you been having parties like this?"

"Oh, um…not until just recently." Roger said with a smile.

"Yes, we're not from around here." Tony added. Jeannie grinned up at him widely as the four boys looked at the three people in front of them suddenly wary once again.

"You're…not?" Micky asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, we're just visiting. We're from Cocoa Beach." Tony added quickly.

"Oh wow, so you're a long way from home." Mike said, interested. Jeannie giggled and gestured around to the crowd of animals and handlers and cooks and staff all in costume.

"Well for tonight, we're _all_ a long way from home! Now let's hurry up and give you a tour of the place so we can get started!"


	11. Secret's Out

**Sorry for the long gap in between this update...I got pretty busy and distracted these past several days so I wasn't able to write much. But I thought I'd try to at least post a little something to keep ya'll happy. Don't forget to leave a review for me! :D**

"…And this is where you will all play for everyone!" Jeannie finished her grand tour as she stopped at the wide opening at the back of the tent, where a small wooden stage was built, the huge blue ocean shining in the background.

"Woah…" Micky said as he noticed that their instruments and equipment were already up on the stage waiting for them. During the short ten minute walkthrough that Jeannie, Tony and Roger had given them, Adiba must have worked quickly to have things ready and in place for the boys.

"Well, what do you think?" Jeannie asked as the boys studied the space in awed silence for a few seconds.

"I think this is great!" Mike said, clearly baffled that they were about to play a gig out on the beach surrounded by such an extravagant party.

"Is there anything else that you boys think you'll need?" Tony asked. He glanced down at Jeannie who looked as if she were listening intently.

"No…I think we're good." Davy said for the group.

"Sorry, this is all just really great…it just doesn't feel real yet with how quickly things are happening!" Micky said, scratching a hand through his curly hair sheepishly. Jeannie beamed up at the four Monkees and both Roger and Tony exchanged knowing glances unseen by the boys.

"We'll leave to you to rehearse in peace, then." Tony said curtly, putting his hands on Jeannie's shoulders. "I'm sure Jeannie's got a lot more to oversee before the party begins in a few hours."

"Yeah, and I guess we'd better get into costume too!" Roger said, having noticed the boys' curious looks at the astronauts' uniforms during their meeting. Tony looked over his shoulder confusedly at his friend who nudged him silently.

"Yeah, Jeannie, you've still got to help us with that too, remember?" Tony added quickly, tugging on the girl's arm to pull her away from the boys who were beginning to climb up onto the stage to reach their instruments and equipment.

"Oh…yes…" Jeannie said, trying to cover up her disappointment at being forced away from watching the Monkees' rehearsing. "Well…if you boys do need anything, I'll certainly be close by, so just give a shout!"  
"Thanks a lot, Jeannie!" Micky called after her as the trio melted back through to people who were straightening up the few scattered tables and setting up the refreshments table along the front wall of the large tent.

"I guess we'd better start somewhere…" Mike said, strumming a few chords on his bass and raising his eyebrows at how crisp and loud they sounded in the amp beside him. "Nice acoustics here in this tent, surprisingly."

"Let me try…" Peter said as he too played a quick set of chords on his guitar. A few of the costumed people helping Jeannie with the party smiled over the tablecloths they were spreading over the tables.

"Oh this is gonna be fun…" Micky said as a wide grin spread across his eager face. He sat down behind his drums and took his drumsticks out of the small pouch on the side of his set.

"What do you say we try a little bit of _Valleri_?" Davy asked as he caught the eye of one of the waitresses bringing a platter of finger-sandwiches and lemonade up to the edge of the stage for the boys. She was dressed in a light blue flowy Arabian dress with a small veil hanging in front of her face. As she set the tray down on the front of the stage, she pulled the veil aside and smiled up at them.

"Miss Jeannie told me to bring these out to you in case you get hungry while you practice." She said, her eyes shining brightly. Davy smiled, flashing one of his flirtatious glances down at her.

"Thanks very much, love." He said quietly. The girl smiled deeply back up at him and gestured at the other three boys behind him.

"I think your friends are ready to start…" She said, blushing as Davy's eyes widened. He glanced over his shoulders at his bandmates, noticing their impatient, knowing looks and he hung his head apologetically.

"Sorry, fellas." He said under his breath. The waitress giggled at his reaction and glanced over her shoulder from where she'd come.

"I should get back too. Lots more to do before the party. I'll see you after?" She asked, brushing her long black hair out of her face. Davy grinned down at her and nodded.

"Sure, darling."

He watched as she bit her lip excitedly and turned to walk back towards the front of the tent. Then Davy seemed to snap himself out of his daze and he suddenly rushed forward on the stage a few steps.

"Hey, wait a second!" He called after her theatrically. The dark haired girl slowly turned and looked back at him, her face beet red. "I didn't catch your name!"

The other three boys didn't even hide the fact that they rolled their eyes at the younger boy's eagerness. The girl giggled lightly before answering him.

"It's Valleri!" She said. Davy was frozen in dumbstruck awe as the girl turned back around and scurried back to work.

"Wow, what are the odds of that?" He asked slowly as he picked up his tambourine, a confused frown on his face.

"That's a pretty funny coincidence." Peter agreed with a smirk.

"We were going to rehearse, yeah?" Mike asked, uncrossing his arms from in front of his chest and once more grasping his guitar in his playing stance.

"Ready?" Micky asked once the other three boys were once more in position. " _Valleri_ on three. One…two…"

* * *

"They actually don't sound half bad." Tony commented once the boys had rehearsed through a good three or four songs. Jeannie was peeking around from the tent flap outside, holding her hands to her chest as she listened to the boys' playing.

"I knew they would be good!" Jeannie said, flashing Tony a smug smile. "They surely will not disappoint the crowd tonight!"

"Yeah, uh…about that crowd, Jeannie…" Roger started slowly, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully. The girl looked around at the tent, nearly complete in the party's setup but empty of guests.

"Oh, I nearly forgot!" She breathed, pressing a hand to her face in realization. She looked around behind her towards the street where a few straggling shoppers were peering around the corner, intrigued at the huge tent down on the beach in the sand. She blinked herself onto the street corner out of sight of the passing pedestrians and surveyed the small sidewalk entrance to the beach.

In the blink of an eye, the small, shaded sidewalk that she had led the Monkees down nearly an hour previously was instantly lit up with a string of lights. Jeannie blinked again and Adiba's lonesome carriage was wrung with white, festive lights and a large banner on one side reading "TODAY ONLY: THE MONKEES' ARABIAN NIGHTS"

Instantly the passing shoppers exclaimed and commented on the festive wagon that had changed right before their eyes. Jeannie smiled excitedly as she witnessed the hurried demeanor of the people, some heading straight for the sidewalk and some heading away to hopefully tell others about the surprise event. Satisfied with her quick thinking, Jeannie blinked herself instantly back to Tony and Roger's side.

"What did you do, Jeannie?" Tony asked, noticing the few people already beginning to trail down towards the tent. Without answering, Jeannie blinked both of the men into vintage Arabian clothing. Tony was instantly clothed in a pair of tan billowing pants and an almost burgundy vest over a white silken shirt, his costume coinciding with Jeannie's colors nicely. Roger was in similar garb, with an evergreen vest over his shirt and tan silken pants. Both men wore large sultan's hat with huge plumed feathers to match the color of their vests. Tony and Roger both regarded each other in surprise for a moment and Jeannie kissed Tony on the cheek with a laugh.

"Oh, you both look so handsome!" She squealed. Tony laughed with her enthusiasm, looking around at the small crowd of people descending towards the tent. Roger immediately straightened his vest smartly with a smirk.

"Looks like this party needs a greeter!" Roger said as he strolled slowly up to meet a group of wide eyed girls who were gaping at the colorful Arabian tent and the gathered animals around the right side of the tent in worn-looking wooden fences. "Hello, ladies!"

"We might need to keep an eye on him…" Tony said teasingly, looking after his friend warily.

"Oh, Major Healey will behave himself." Jeannie chided him lightly. She pulled Tony into the tent with her just as the servants she had blinked into existence from her hometown were putting the finishing touches on the decorative tables. The banquet along the front wall of the tent was steaming with several dishes of food, punch and sodas lining one end of the buffet table and desserts lining the other.

The small crowd of people that had gathered from the streets slowly entered the large tent, looking at their surroundings curiously and Jeannie quickly blinked a large, sound-muffling golden curtain between them and the still rehearsing Monkees onstage.

"Welcome to the Arabian Nights!" Jeannie said theatrically to the people in the doorway and she proceeded to show them around for a preshow of what they would expect that afternoon.

* * *

"Hey…did that curtain just come out of nowhere?" Peter asked in the middle of rehearsing _Last Train to Clarksville_ , interrupting Micky's singing. Mike squinted at the fabric blocking their view of the decorative interior of the tent, and then looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"No, man, there were some guys installing it, I saw them bring it over here a few minutes ago...I think…" Davy tried to explain, but even he looked up at the thick golden curtain in confusion.

"Maybe we're just seeing things…must be nerves…" Micky said, squeezing his drumsticks tightly as he looked around at his fellow bandmates. Mike tapped his chin thoughtfully as he seemed to be searching around the stage floor for something.

"Yeah…I've been kinda wondering what's been going on with these cords…" He muttered, sliding his guitar over onto his hip as he leaned down. He carefully trailed his hand along the cord that connected his amp to its power source. When he reached the end of it, his heart skipped a beat and he snapped his mouth shut in slight panic. He held up the end of the plug which he had discovered hadn't been connected to anything at all from where it had been tucked discreetly underneath the stage.

"What is…?" Micky gaped, staring from the plug in Mike's hand to the tall boy's serene expression.

"So that amazing sound system is just…" Davy waved his hands in the air around his head dramatically. "…what, magic or something?"

"It…looks like it…" Mike trailed off, studying the dangling plug in dumbfounded awe.

"I knew something was strange about this, you guys…" Peter said softly, holding his guitar tighter to his chest as he looked sorrowfully at the other three teens. Micky glanced up at him over his drumset and bit his lip, a worried look falling over his face as he studied the plug clutched in Mike's hand.

"No…no, it's okay. We just…need to talk to Jeannie and see what kinda gag this is she's playing on us." Micky said with a hopeful, dismissive laugh. Mike shook his head and shifted on his feet uncomfortably like he was about to say something.

"You boys sound wonderful! Do you need anything else before we get started in a little bit?"

The four boys all let out a startled gasp as Jeannie's voice popped up from behind them on the stage. Mike was so surprised at the sudden appearance that he dropped the plug from his grasp and it struck the wooden stage with a dull thud and Jeannie's eyes instantly landed on it in confusion and then realization. Her wide eyes shot up to the four boys' confused expressions and she straightened herself after a moment. Micky spoke before she could.

"What's going on?"

"…Going on?" She repeated, unable to even attempt to hide the guilty look on her face.

"Why wasn't this thing plugged in to anything, and how come it sounded like the best sound system in the history of sound systems?" Davy piped in sharply, tilting his head up defensively. Jeannie cringed at the boy's tone of voice and then looked once more down at the plug on the floor of the stage.

"I…well, um…"

"Is this a joke?" Mike asked, gesturing around at the golden curtain that shielded them from the huge spectacle of a party that was about to happen around them. "Because if it is…"

"It's not a joke…I really am putting on this show so that you four can perform…" Jeannie said, her voice genuine but soft with worry.

"Then what's with all of this fishy business?" Davy asked again, his posture less demanding now. Jeannie bit her lip, her eyes flashing to each of the boy's faces once more. She finally slumped her shoulders and looked down at her slippered feet in what looked like shame.

"I can't tell you that." She murmured sadly. Micky clenched his jaw worriedly and he stood up from his drumset hesitantly.

"Is…whatever it is…is it bad?" He asked. Jeannie looked up at his worried expression and her face burst into a humored smile.

"No, it's not _bad_! It's just…" She glanced back at the golden curtain as if she were looking for something or someone. "…I can't tell you because it's a secret."

"Are you…a witch or something?" Peter asked, looking around hesitantly too. Jeannie laughed lightly and shook her head, her blond ponytail bouncing from one shoulder to the other.

"No, of course not!" She said, rolling her eyes with a smirk.

"Then what's going on here, Jeannie?" Mike asked, folding his hands across his chest as he studied her warily. Her smile faded again slightly.

"Jeannie?" Davy asked, noticing the distant look that had come over her eyes. Peter's face scrunched up thoughtfully.

"A…genie?" The blond boy said, more to himself than to the others. Jeannie gave herself away as she glanced hurriedly in his direction, eyes wide in surprise.

"Jeannie?" Mike turned to look at Peter questioningly. Peter shook his head and pointed at the girl.

"No… _genie_ …with a 'G'!"

Each of the four boys stood still for a moment as they stared at the blond girl for her to object to that idea as well but she didn't. Jeannie bit at her fingernails nervously as she tried to think of what to do before hastily blinking and disappearing from their sight.


	12. Reassurances

"Jeannie's…a genie?!" Davy exclaimed, instantly leaping back a step from where Jeannie had just disappeared from the stage seconds ago before their critical eyes.

"I knew something was up, man!" Mike said, pressing a hand to his forehead.

"What are we gonna do now?" Peter asked, still clutching his guitar to himself as he looked around at the others sheepishly. Mike shook his head and paced the small stage behind the golden curtain.

"I don't know…I just don't know…" Mike muttered under his breath.

Micky was silent as he slowly sat back down behind his drumset, the scene that he had just witnessed playing over and over in his head. He looked at the spot where Jeannie had just vanished and shook his head sadly.

"We're still going to play for her, that's what we're going to do." He said finally. The other three Monkees looked back at him sharply.

"You can't be serious!" Davy said, throwing his arm behind him to gesture at the spot where Jeannie had just stood. "There's magic and weird stuff going on here…something that _you_ promised wouldn't happen to us this time!"

"How was I supposed to know she wasn't human? I just met her on the beach and she seemed pretty normal to me then!" Micky argued back at him.

"We really bit the big one here, you guys. If she can conjure up this whole party thing in less than a day, then there's no telling what'll happen now that we've upset her!" Mike said.

"She's not going to hurt us, if that's what you're getting at…" Micky challenged him. Mike's eyebrows raised and his stance grew sarcastic.

"Oh she won't? How do you know that for sure, Mick?"

"Because she cared enough about us to put this thing together." Peter piped up quietly. Mike and Micky both tore their angered glares away from each other to look at the blond boy as he continued. "She listened to what Micky had to say about us and she wanted to do what she could to help us out."

"Yeah…she did." Micky said softly, slumping back on the small stool behind his drums in thought. His bitterness at being blamed for getting the band into their current situation had made the drummer temporarily forget Jeannie's sweet gesture toward them.

"So…what, we're just going to stand here and perform for whatever crowd of people she's conjured up like nothing's wrong?" Davy asked after a moment. Micky shrugged.

"What have we got to lose?"

"I mean…isn't there supposedly a rule against normal people knowing about a magical being's abilities?" Mike asked. "Look at what happened when Davy was dating that vampire chick. She lured all four of us to that mansion and had her uncle and his goons try to kidnap us and transform Davy and Micky into a vampire and a werewolf!"

"That's…a little different, Mike." Micky said, shaking his head as Davy threw him a thoughtful look, remembering.

"Or that time that we met that phony magician who somehow turned us all into his psychic slaves?" Mike suggested. Peter grimaced and shook his head.

"Yeah…that was a little scary…" The blond boy admitted.

"Mike's right…what if we get in trouble or something now that we know Jeannie's secret?" Davy said, worry lacing his voice. "We could get magically transported to some random place far away, maybe even _separated_ …"

"Guys, I'm sure things are going to still be okay…" Micky said, trying to sound optimistic.

"If by 'okay', you mean we'll always be treading carefully knowing that there are real genies and magic people walking among us." Davy said bitterly.

"Hey, we've been treading carefully ever since we've been in this music business. You know how many weird things have happened to us over the years." Mike said.

"What if she puts a curse on us or something?" Peter blurted out, chewing on his knuckles nervously. Davy rolled his eyes.

"Peter, you're thinking of witches again."

"Genies can do that sort of thing too, you know." The blond boy said defensively, crossing his arms across his guitar.

"Neither of which we really put much thought into before now." Micky said, a thoughtful look screwing up his face.

"That's true…and now look where we are." Davy said sourly. Micky blinked and looked down at his drums forlornly.

"Hey, do you boys happen to know where Jeannie ran off to? She disappeared on me…" The four boys nearly jumped out of their skin as the huge curtain was pulled aside to allow Major Nelson to climb onto the stage. The man smiled apologetically, seeing that he'd startled them and he shrugged. "Sorry about that."

"That's alright," Mike said, laughing it off. "No, uh, we haven't seen her…she kind of disappeared on us too."

Tony chuckled and rubbed the back of his head nervously, looking around at the boys as they stood awkwardly studying him from their places on the stage. After a moment, he clapped his hands in front of him and turned to head back through the curtain.

"Well, if you see her, just uh…"

"Sure, we'll certainly let you know." Davy smiled widely, waving the man away. Tony nodded curtly and swept the curtain aside to leave the boys to their practicing. As soon as he'd gone, the four Monkees congregated together once more.

"Do you think he knows about her?" Mike asked, staring quickly between the other three boys.

"He has to know, right? I mean…" Davy gestured around. "If he's unsurprised by how fast this whole thing popped up then he's got to know _something_ about what's going on…"

"Yeah, they seem like they're really close." Peter added.

"You don't think…" Micky's eyes widened. "You don't think _he's one too_?"

"No…he's not." Jeannie's soft voice interrupted their theories.

* * *

Tony Nelson looked around at the growing crowd that had started to pile up, some already in costumes of their own. He nodded to a couple who had found a front row seat at the table down in front of the stage, heaping plates of food from the crowded buffet table in their hands. He made his way through the tent and out to the last place he had seen Roger.

"…And this fine specimen here is a Dromedary…" A man's voice said.

"It's a one-humped camel." Tony head Roger's voice comment as he rounded the corner of the tent where the petting zoo was. Roger had a young blonde woman by his side, his arm wrapped around her waist as she reached up to pet the animal in front of her, Adiba holding the reins with a broad smile on his face.

"This one's name is Hijen." Adiba explained and the woman smiled excitedly when the camel leaned down to nudge her gently.

"Look at that, he likes you!" Roger said with a laugh. The girl nodded and giggled as she continued stroking the docile animal's nose softly. Adiba cleared his throat and threw Roger an amused glance over the camel's lowered head.

"Hijen is a _female_ Dromedary…" The man said slowly. Roger's smile cracked and he made himself stand a little taller as his newfound possible date laughed at his error.

"Good one, Roger." Tony chuckled as the blonde girl left his friend's side, still giggling.

"She was mine, Tony. I think we really had something there…" Roger said softly, a dumbfounded look on his face. Adiba turned away with a chuckle, leading Hijen over to another small group of teenagers who seemed eager to see the animal. Tony clapped a hand on Roger's shoulder and smiled at him supportively.

"I think she was a little young for you, Roger. Did you even catch her name?"

"Francine, I think." The other man said, messing with his deep green feather which had fallen into his eyes. "It couldn't be the outfit, could it?"

"No, that's out of the question." Tony said with a laugh. He straightened his own burgundy vest and looked around, suddenly remembering why he had been seeking his friend out. "Hey, have you seen Jeannie lately?"

"Not since the people started coming down here. Why?"

"She did her little disappearing thing again, and she hasn't turned up in the past few minutes. I thought maybe she had blinked herself up to help those Monkees or to tell them to get ready to start, but she wasn't up on the stage with them." Tony said, taking off his large hat and trying to flatten his hair down nervously.

"I'm sure she's around, Tony. This is her party, you know." Roger said dismissively. "Hey, did you see the herd of Arabian horses she brought? They're down on the end…"

"Yeah, that's great Roger." Tony said absent-mindedly, turning to walk back into the tent to find Jeannie before she could get herself into trouble.

* * *

"Jeannie!" Micky exclaimed, tumbling back from where he had been leaning over his drums to converse with the other three band members. Davy had fallen to the stage floor in his surprise, and both Mike and Peter had grabbed each other out of their panic. Jeannie offered Micky, the only one who had spoken instead of shrieked, a wary glance.

"Yes." She said, her voice almost a whisper. Her eyes were sad as she looked around at the boys and she seemed to be afraid that she would scare the boys further. Likewise, the Monkees seemed afraid to say or do anything that might trigger the magical girl in front of them.

"Are…are you okay?" Micky finally asked, his voice pitched higher with his nerves. Jeannie bobbed her head up and down briefly, her blond ponytail dancing.

"Are _you_ all alright?" She asked quietly in return. The four boys hesitated for a moment and then each one nodded slowly as well, not taking their eyes off of her.

"We just…we didn't think that this would actually turn into something…like…uh…all _this_ …" Mike said slowly, drawing a circle in the air, gesturing at the room around them. Jeannie tilted her head to the side as she regarded the tall boy curiously.

"You…you all seem not quite as shocked as I would have expected you to be…" She said, clasping her hands in front of her tightly. Micky looked around at the others before standing up from his drums and slowly walking around them to join his bandmates in front of Jeannie.

"Well, we've seen a thing or two." The curly headed boy said for the four of them.

"Vampires," Davy said.

"Spies," Mike added.

"Ghosts," Peter waved his hands in the air above him with a cartoonish look on his face. Jeannie smirked and nodded understandingly.

"I heard that you all trying to piece everything together…I figured you were experienced in odd things." She said with a halfhearted smile.

"Oh yeah…we just…hope that you weren't offended that we had unknowingly uncovered your secret." Micky said hopefully. Jeannie shook her head and then glanced back in the direction that Major Nelson had gone just a few moments prior.

"Just…don't let my master know that you know about this…" She said softly. Davy did a double-take, looking at the curtain where Tony had peeped through. He pointed at the place and then looked back to Jeannie quizzically.

"He's…he's your _master?_ "

"Yes, he found my bottle several years ago on an island near Cocoa Beach. That's where we live." She explained seriously.

"Gosharoonie, a real genie from a bottle!" Micky smiled as he looked around at the other boys who all still seemed uncertain of Jeannie's capabilities. Jeannie smiled shyly and shrugged.

"Not a lamp?" Mike asked, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Well, I did have a lamp for a while, but the sand would corrode the exterior terribly. Who would pick up an old rusted lamp expecting to find a beautiful genie inside?" She joked, playing with her pink veil with a smirk.

"It worked for Aladdin." Peter said. Jeannie rolled her eyes light-heartedly and put a hand on her hip.

"Aladdin's genie put a spell on his lamp to draw people to it over the other treasure and riches in the cavern." She said. "I didn't get the luxury to choose where my bottle was placed."

"You didn't?" Micky asked curiously.

"No, I was trapped in it for thousands of years not knowing my surroundings or where I was going…" She said quickly. The four Monkees stared at the girl in front of them, eyes wide in realization. Jeannie blinked and looked at their expressions in surprise.

"You're…" Mike stared, breaking off as he looked at Davy who had slapped his arm.

"You were stuck in a little bottle for that long?" The shorter boy asked. Jeannie nodded.

"Oh yes. But I try not to think about that because I am free now." She said with a bright smile. Davy looked back at Micky who tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"But then…if you're free…why do you call that Nelson guy your Master?" Micky asked her quietly. Jeannie lowered her face slightly as a blush lit up her round face.

"Because I chose to be with him…" She said softly. Micky nodded in quiet understanding and then looked around as the golden curtain was swept aside once more.

"There you are, Jeannie!" Roger Healey exclaimed as he spotted Jeannie up on the stage conversing with the four boys. Jeannie stood up straighter and smiled brightly at her Master's colleague. The evergreen-clad sultan turned to shout over his shoulder. "Hey Tony, she's up here!"

"Jeannie, where have you been? Isn't it about time to get these boys ready to perform?" Tony said, looking down at his watch as he climbed up onto the stage. Jeannie moved to his side and took his arm gently.

"Yes, that's what we were all just talking about." She beamed at the boys who had hurriedly returned to their places with their instruments.

"There's definitely a good crowd out there tonight." Roger added, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Hope you boys aren't nervous or anything. This is going to be a real treat!"

"Yeah, no worries, right?" Davy asked, chuckling to hide his climbing heart rate.

"Right!" Roger said as he punched the small boy's arm playfully. As the man turned to exit the stage, Davy clutched a hand to the spot he had hit comically.

"Do you boys need an introduction or anything or do you just want to start?" Tony asked with a supportive smile. Mike glanced back at Micky who shook his head.

"I think we'll just dive right into playing, if that's alright." Mike said for the group. Tony nodded curtly. Jeannie smiled at the four of them lovingly and then leapt from Major Nelson's side to run and hug each of them quickly before returning to her Master's side.

"I wish you all good luck, I _know_ you will sound just wonderful!" She exclaimed emotionally. The four Monkees tried to hide their individual blushes as Tony and Jeannie both followed Roger off the stage to leave the boys to themselves before they started.

"This is it, guys." Micky said, his voice shaking slightly as he expertly twirled his drumstick in his right hand.

"Yep." Mike said.

"You know…we can't really lose here." Davy said thoughtfully. Mike frowned to his side and glanced at the boy quizzically.

"Why do you say that?" He asked. Davy looked over at him and shrugged.

"If we mess up, then Jeannie can just jump in and make it better."

The youngest Monkees' words seemed to ease the tension in the group and the boys all fell into their familiar stances, preparing to do their best for the crowd waiting for them. As soon as the huge golden curtain flew aside, the Monkees were instantly thrown into their music.


	13. An Unexpected Party Guest

**I was so upset to hear about Peter Tork's passing this week, but I'm so appreciative of the memories he's left here with his music. Rest in Peace, Peter! 3**

As the Monkees stood up on stage playing their hearts out, the crowd seemed to grow more and more lively. Groups of people were up and dancing down in front of the stage, giggling and some even singing along with the melody of the boys' singing. Jeannie looked on in excited silence, bouncing energetically by Tony's side as he too, watched the band in their playing.

"I'll tell you, Jeannie…you really did seem to have a good idea this time." Tony said, nodding along to the boys' current song, _Sweet Young Thing_. Jeannie looked up at him briefly with a bright smile before she whirled around and took his hands to lead him over to the dance floor.

"Oh, Master! You don't know how happy it makes me to hear you say that!" She exclaimed. Tony grinned down at her, looking slightly embarrassed as she began copying some of the dance moves that the other teenagers were doing around them.

"I don't see you dancing, Tony!" Roger called from a few yards away. He had somehow found himself another potential date, this time a redhead wearing a short purple dress. The girl waved over to them as Roger swept her around out of sight. Jeannie giggled as Tony made an annoyed face behind his friend's back and then began to shimmy to the beat of the music.

"That's great, Master!" She laughed as she moved along with him. "See now, hasn't this been a wonderful vacation so far?"

"Yes, I guess it has." Tony felt his face break into a smile. "Makes me almost forget about the meeting tomorrow…"

"Major Nelson?!"

Tony's eyes shot over to where the familiar voice had sounded from, panic firing up in his heart immediately. A short, stocky figure parted through the dancing crowd of teenagers and partygoers and Tony was almost frozen with dread.

"D-Doctor Bellows. I didn't expect to see you here so early…" He began slowly, swiping the large sultan's hat from his head and wringing it in his hands anxiously. Jeannie peeked over his shoulder to where Doctor Bellows was studying the astronaut up and down curiously.

"I can see that you've been enjoying yourself here since you've arrived early for the meeting…" The man said, raising an eyebrow at Tony's Arabian outfit. "Is Major Healey here, too?"

"Um…he's…"

"Hey Tony! Come over here and meet my new girlfriend, Tina!" Roger's voice carried over the loud music and the energetic crowd. Doctor Bellows turned in the direction of Major Healey's voice and made a smug face as he gestured for Tony to follow him.

"Well…it was good while it lasted, Jeannie…" Tony murmured over his shoulder at Jeannie's worried expression.

"Oh, Master, surely you won't be in trouble for just having a little recreational fun while you're here!" She insisted. Tony shook his head.

"How did he even find us?" He muttered, running a hand through his short hair nervously. Jeannie shrugged and then offered him one of her quick smiles.

"Maybe he just couldn't turn down a good party?"

"Hello, Major Healey…" Doctor Bellows said as the green clothed sultan nearly spit out the punch he was drinking. The girl in the purple dress, Tina, looked from Roger to Doctor Bellows and then slowly began to edge away uncomfortably, sensing the change in mood. Roger grasped at his vest which was now stained with the red punch, trying to avoid looking at Doctor Bellows' critical gaze.

"Hi, Doctor Bellows, how's it going?" He asked, still looking down at his chest. The man looked back and forth from Roger to Tony and his eyes lingered on Jeannie for half a moment before he frowned at her.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" He asked her curiously. She smiled politely at him and shook her head.

"I'm just here for the music and the party." She said casually, pretending to look back at the stage where the Monkees were still playing, their music flowing around the large tent. Doctor Bellows nodded, unconvinced then turned his attention back to the two astronauts in front of him.

"Would either of care to explain to me what's going on here?" He asked, his arms crossed over his chest in waiting. Tony glanced to Roger who looked back up at him worriedly. Tony stood himself up a little taller and shrugged.

"It's just a beach party, Doctor Bellows. We've been going over the notes and briefing for the meeting all day so we decided to come out for a little fun." He explained. Doctor Bellows nodded, a knowing look on his face.

"That's all well and good but I overheard some of the guests here at this party and they're saying some very interesting things. About how this party just 'appeared out of nowhere'…"

"You know kids nowadays…nobody ever knows what's going on around 'em…" Roger said nonchalantly. Tony nodded in hopeful agreement.

"Yes, well I didn't think anything of it until I spotted you two in the midst of it all." Doctor Bellows continued. He narrowed his gaze at the two men suspiciously. "I can't help but think that you're both somehow involved here in some way."

"Us? We're here to cheer on my cousin's kid and his band up there." Roger said, pointing up to the stage where the Monkees had just finished their most recent song, _Laugh,_ ending it to numerous excited cheers. Doctor Bellows glanced up at the four boys on the stage, all grinning widely as they thanked the crowd for their applause. When they struck up the beginning of their next song, the man turned back to the two astronauts curiously.

"I didn't know that you had a cousin living here in California, Major Healey." Doctor Bellows said, eyebrows raised. "Which one is he?"

Roger shrugged and briefly glanced at Tony as he pointed back up towards the stage. Calculating quickly and carefully which one of the four boys would cause Doctor Bellows the least suspicions, he gave his answer.

"The one up there on the drums, Micky. Good kid…" Roger said with a smirk. Doctor Bellows seemed impressed with the boy's energetic playing and nodded approvingly along to the beat of their current song _, I'm A Believer._

"Yes, he's pretty skilled on those drums. He was trying to show us a thing or two this afternoon before the party." Tony lied lightheartedly. Doctor Bellows chuckled.

"I'm sure he certainly put you two in your place."

"He sure did, yeah." Roger laughed good-naturedly. "They're all pretty talented kids."

"It's a shame that the musical talent didn't reach your side of the family, Major Healey." Doctor Bellows said with a smirk. Roger raised his eyebrows in surprise at the man's harsh teasing but said nothing out of fear of making him suspicious again. Doctor Bellows turned and walked away from the two astronauts to the refreshments, leaving them alone, having bought their explanations.

"That was too close, Tony!" He hissed as soon as Doctor Bellows was out of earshot. Tony nodded abruptly and turned back to where Jeannie was swaying along to the Monkees' music fondly.

"Jeannie, think we can tone it down a bit here? There's quite a crowd around us, and Doctor Bellows says that there's a lot of talk about how odd it was that this party seemed to come from out of the blue…" Tony said in Jeannie's ear, startling the girl.

"Oh, but Master, look at how happy everyone is! They're a hit!" Jeannie squeaked, pointing up at where Davy was dancing along to the music onstage, causing several squeals and cheers.

"I know it's great, really Jeannie, but…just promise me that you're in control of this thing here. I know how crazy these teenaged parties can get after a while…" Tony murmured worriedly. Jeannie smiled up at him reassuringly.

"I will fix things if it starts to get out of hand, Anthony, you know that." She said softly. Tony nodded, and glanced around to make sure that Doctor Bellows was still minding his own business.

"If he stays, just…try to make it look like an innocent party…He's suspicious of us already." Tony said. Jeannie nodded quickly in understanding, scanning the crowd for anything out of the ordinary.

"Yeah that's what this is…just an ordinary party…" Roger said to himself, scanning the room for his own reasons, his gaze finally catching on a flash of purple. He cleared his throat and stretched his arms nonchalantly as he started to move closer towards the stage, parting the dancing crowd. "Alright, well I'll keep an eye on things from my post over there with Tina, while you guys watch Doctor Bellows."

"Roger…" Tony started to say, but his friend was already halfway across the dance floor to catch up with his date. Jeannie smiled after him, and when Tony turned to look at her pleadingly, she patted his face lovingly.

"Now Master…you really need to relax. We're here to have a good time at this party, aren't we?" She said enticingly. Tony slumped his shoulders and then reluctantly put his sultan's hat back onto his head. He wrapped his arms around Jeannie's shoulders as the Monkees struck up a slower song that forced the couples together in a slow dance.

"That's right, we are." He said more to himself than in reply to Jeannie's rhetorical question. Jeannie grinned up at him and straightened the burgundy colored plume in his hat.

"And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I promise you, Doctor Bellows should not be suspicious of anything else here tonight." She said, blinking abruptly.

Far across the tent from the dancing couple sat Doctor Bellows who was in the process of chowing down on a plate of cakes and fresh fruit. His eyes suddenly lit up with approval as he tasted the delicious party food.

"Amazing…" He said, digging his fork into a red velvet cake and shoving another bite into his mouth. A group of people walked by the man's table, stifling giggles as the man rushed to finish his desserts. Doctor Bellows, a ring of icing lacing his mouth, leapt up excitedly from his small table and headed straight back to the refreshments table to fill his plate with more of the delicious party treats.


	14. Party's Over

**I had every intention of posting this chapter on Micky Dolenz's birthday Friday but I've been working overtime at one job and had some church functions and whatnot going on over the weekend so I kept putting it off. I hope you enjoy this chapter and PLEASE don't forget to leave a review for me to let me know what you think! :D**

"Okay everybody! We're going to take a quick intermission, but don't go anywhere, because we'll be right back!" Davy called out after they had finished an upbeat run-through of _Steppin' Stone_. The crowd whistled and cheered as the huge golden curtain was magically pulled in front of the group, quieting the small stage that the boys stood on. There was a quick beat of silence before the four Monkees turned to look at each other, their faces beaded with sweat and huge unbelievable grins on their faces.

"This is amazing!" Peter said, brushing his blonde hair off of his forehead to allow the ocean breeze to cool his face.

"There's so many people…"Mike said, shaking his head in disbelief as he lifted his guitar from over his shoulder and set it gently on its stand. "We've never played for that many people at one time before!"

"They love us, guys! Isn't it great?" Micky exclaimed.

"Valleri! Hi!" Davy said as a dark headed girl peeked around the curtain, a curious smile on her face. She spotted Davy and her grin brightened immensely as she pushed the curtain aside to climb onto the stage. She bore a large tray with lemonade and water bottles. Small perfectly decorated cakes and snacks also littered the tray and the teens all crowded around the short girl, famished after performing for over an hour.

"Thanks Valleri!" Micky said through a mouthful of food. "Hey, have you seen Jeannie around? I figured she would come up to talk to us before we get back to performing."

"I haven't." She said sheepishly, tearing her gaze away from Davy's face for just a moment to answer Micky. "We haven't spoken since before the party."

"I saw her with that Tony guy down in the crowd. They were near the refreshments, so maybe they're just getting a bite to eat." Mike said nonchalantly as he chugged a water bottle.

"You all play wonderfully, I very much liked the Valleri song." The girl said, more to Davy than to the other three boys.

"Yeah, we figured you would." Micky said, lighthearted sarcasm in his voice as he gently elbowed Mike in the chest. The taller boy made a show of choking on his water bottle, stifling a chuckle as Davy ignored them, eyes only for the girl in front of him.

"Are you…are you doing anything after the party?" Davy asked softly. The girl blushed an even deeper scarlet as she looked past him and to the other three Monkees. Realizing that she had caught them watching the exchange between the couple, Micky, Peter and Mike each cleared their throats and pretended to be immersed in anything else other than the two people in front of them.

"Not that I know of." She replied, offering the shorter Monkee a vanilla cupcake. Davy's smile widened and he raised his eyebrows teasingly.

"Have you got anything sweeter? Maybe a kiss?" He said. Valleri pursed her lips, and leaned forward. Before Davy could react, she had pulled away again, having heard the footsteps of another person climbing up towards the stage.

"Oh, I'm so proud of you all!" Jeannie's voice squealed before she had even appeared from around the curtain. Micky turned back around from where he and Mike were watching the sunset over the pounding ocean.

"We were just wondering if you'd come and visit us!" Micky smiled brightly. Jeannie glanced to where Davy was watching Valleri gather up the empty water bottles and lemonade cups.

"Of course!" She exclaimed. Tony Nelson stepped up on the stage beside her, looking nervous for some reason. "Are you boys having as much fun as we are?"

"We sure are!" Peter said with a dimpled grin. "Thanks so much for this, Jeannie."

"I can't believe you were able to get so many people here so quickly!" Mike said with a boyish grin. Jeannie's eyes twinkled playfully as she felt Tony's knowing look on her face.

"Oh, it was no trouble at all. You boys deserve this…just hearing you all up here singing proves that." She said softly. Tony nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you're really a very good group. I can't see why you're not a big hit already?" He asked lightly. Mike shrugged and Micky shook his head while Peter ruffled his blonde hair anxiously. Davy was the one who spoke up.

"We just haven't had our big break yet, I suppose. Weird things seem to keep popping up every time we get close, so that's what keeps bringing us back down, I think." He said slowly. Jeannie nodded knowingly and Tony cleared his throat, glancing down at his wristwatch hoping that the subject would divert away from 'weird things.'

"Well, I'm sure you boys need another few minutes to get rested up for the second half…come on Jeannie, let's leave them alone." Tony said with a cautious smile at the quartet.

"Wait!" Micky said, before Jeannie could turn to follow her Master. She smiled up at him expectantly, slight surprise in her eyes.

As soon as the outburst had stopped echoing around the small stage, Micky felt his face heat up from more than the hot humidity of the outdoor weather. He glanced hurriedly at his bandmates who were slowly moving back into their positions, Mike and Peter picking up their guitars and Davy sorting out his maracas.

"I just…I thought that maybe you a could do a song with us, Jeannie? I mean, if you want to…"

Jeannie was silent for a moment before she looked back to where Tony was watching them quizzically. She blinked thoughtfully and then studied Micky carefully.

"I don't know…" She started to say after a few seconds. "I'm not really familiar with any of your songs, although the ones you've played so far are pretty catchy."

"Well, that's the thing. You don't have to know them, I'd just like it if you were up here with us. You're the one who put this party together, why not share in the experience?"

Jeannie's bright eyes shone a little brighter as they filled with tears. She smiled longingly and then looked back to Tony where he was peeking out from behind the curtain distractedly. Micky reached out and took her hand hesitantly and she jumped as she turned back to look up to where he had moved closer to her.

"I've got a new song that I want to try out. Even the guys don't really know how it goes yet…we'll just wing it." Micky continued. The other three Monkees who were listening to Micky's persuading all exchanged glances as they prepared themselves for what Micky called 'winging it.'

"Alright." Jeannie finally relented. Micky's smile broke out across his face and he did a quick excited skip to reach his spot behind the drums, leaving Jeannie smiling on the stage by Davy.

"Oh, um…hey Pete, think you could switch over to the keyboard for this one?" Micky called lightly to his left. Peter slipped his guitar off of his shoulder and rounded the keyboard and began flipping through the small stack of papers there. He stopped, knowing which song Micky was planning to do.

As Peter began tapping at the keyboard quietly to quickly practice the opening notes of the song, Jeannie prepared to blink the curtains open once more. She even found herself humming to the soft melody as the Monkees worked their own magic around her, speedily creating the song. She waited patiently for their signal that they were ready to end the intermission, noticing that Tony was still peering out from around the curtain. His body language indicated that something was wrong. Jeannie cocked her head to the side in thought, knowing that Doctor Bellows was still under the influence of her magical diversion to the party food, so that couldn't be the problem.

"Hey, uh, Jeannie?" Mike's voice said quietly from beside her. She looked over to him with an excited smile and he cleared his throat softly as he glanced around at his bandmates. "I think we're ready if you are."

"Of course!" She said, turning back to face the heavy golden curtain before them. She caught Tony's eye as he turned back to the group, eyes wide and face paled in panic.

"Jeannie, no, we can't…" He said quickly. Confused, Jeannie hesitated, and the four boys around her were suddenly nervous at the man's outburst.

"What is it Master? What's wrong?" Jeannie asked quickly. Tony's face went stoic as she called him 'Master' in front of the group. His eyes darted around to the each of the four teens, whose gazes were all on him.

"Did you…Jeannie….you told them all you're a…?" Tony stammered in disbelief, looking between the boys and the blonde genie frantically. Jeannie's hand instantly went to her mouth where she chewed at her nails, looking back at the boys who were silent as they watched her worriedly.

"Master, they really didn't mind, in fact, they guessed what was going on before I could actually tell them, so…" She began hurriedly, but Tony held up a hand to silence her and thumbed over his shoulder back to the curtain where he had been looking out.

"Half of the audience is leaving." He said, his voice lower. Jeannie frowned deeply, glancing back as Davy rushed from his place on the stage to peek out at the dwindling crowd in the tent.

"Did we take too long of an intermission? It couldn't have been 15 minutes!" The short boy protested. Tony shook his head, directing his attention back to Jeannie who was clearly in distress that her party plan was falling apart so quickly.

"Maybe it's time to…"

"Tony, Jeannie, I think we have a problem out here…" Roger said, flinging the curtain aside as he rushed on the stage, dragging a wide eyed and confused Tina by the hand behind him.

"Why is everyone leaving?" Peter asked, hurt in his voice as he moved away from the keyboard to peer out at the crowd with Davy.

"The police are here. They're saying something about not having permits to do this party on the beach here like this…" Roger said, scratching the back of his head apologetically. Jeannie looked around warily, her heart sinking even further. Tony nodded understandingly, his eyes sad as he regarded Jeannie's face silently.

"Oh…" Jeannie said shakily after a few seconds had passed and them murmur of the crowd on the other side of the curtain had dulled down to almost silence. She moved carefully away from Tony and peered over Davy and Peter's heads to where a group of three or four policemen were making their way up to the stage where they figured they would find the people responsible for the party. A lone partygoer still stood over at the buffet table, and Jeannie smiled slightly as she could see that it was Doctor Bellows, still taste testing everything in sight under her influence.

"I think it'd probably be best if you go on home now, Tina. I'll…call you later." Roger said to the girl by his side. He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and she gave the group of people a polite smile as she edged down the stairs to follow the trail of people leaving the party.

"You…you know what we need to do now, don't you Jeannie?" Tony said softly from behind her. She didn't look at him as she grimaced and blinked back tears, folding her arms over her chest. The four Monkees watched her carefully, taking a few steps back from the girl. With a powerful blink, Jeannie transported the policemen back to the street by their waiting cars, the last of the party crowd dispersing calmly down the sidewalks away from the huge colorful tent. Confused, the men looked around at each other and then there was a beat of pause before they began the trudge back down to the beach once more.

Back on the stage, Jeannie first blinked the golden curtain away so that the huge empty tent was in full view of the small group of people. The tables were empty, some littered with half eaten plates and cups of lemonade and punch. The small space below the stage was pitted with footsteps in the sand from where the crowd had danced to the Monkees wonderful, upbeat music. The buffet table towards the front wall of the tent was still piled with the delicious party food and refreshments that Doctor Bellows was still in the process of taste-testing. Jeannie sighed and then blinked the lone man away to his hotel room before then blinking the tables from existence.

The four Monkees watched the phenomenon of disappearances happening in front of them wordlessly. They each stood close by each other as they held their breath for whatever Jeannie decided to do with them.

The huge tent was empty, save for the stage that they all still stood on, and the handful of servants Jeannie had blinked from her hometown to help with the party. They all stood where they were in silence, looking up to her expectantly. Valleri, who was the closest one to the stage, caught Davy's eye and the short boy tore himself from his bandmates to kneel over the edge of the stage to take the girl's hand.

"I'll never see you again, will I?" Davy murmured to the girl. Valleri looked up at Jeannie who was regarding the pair of them sadly, hesitating for Davy's sake. The girl looked back up at Davy with a sad smile on her face and she shrugged.

"I must go back home, Davy. We all do." She said softly, gesturing around to the other waiting servants. Davy bit his lip and nodded slowly, his eyes welling up with tears.

"I…I won't forget you." He whispered emotionally as he leaned over the stage further to kiss the girl. There was a long moment of silence before he slowly rose up from his place and retreated back to where the other three boys still stood. Micky patted the younger boy's shoulder consolingly as Jeannie blinked once more, and the servants in the colorful Arabian clothing disappeared from their sight. The dull hum of the animals just outside the tent had also grown silent, signaling that they too had been transported back to their original places.

Jeannie looked around at the huge empty tent in emotional silence, the sand dotted with footprints from the lively party that, up until a few moments ago, had been going along so well. By her side, Tony gently touched her shoulder. She turned and looked up to him with tears welling up in her eyes, glancing back halfheartedly to the four boys behind her. Tony tightened his jaw and Roger shuffled his feet uncomfortably as he tried to avert his eyes from the four pleading looks directed their way.

"Master…they're not at fault…this was all my doing…this party, the opportunity for them to play for…" Jeannie squeaked. Tony tore his gaze from her face long enough to glimpse the worried Monkees behind her. Micky was the one who stepped forward hesitantly, wringing his hands in front of him nervously.

"Major Nelson…sir? We promise we won't tell anyone about Jeannie. We honestly didn't know about her genie powers until just a few hours ago…she just wanted to help us…that's all." Micky said softly. Tony considered the boy in front of him, looking timid for a change.

"Yeah, we'll even go back to being our usual broke musician failures if that's what you want. We won't even accept any gigs or anything if you're afraid someone might recognize us and trace us back to this unexplainable party…" Davy added quickly. He shrugged comically as Tony frowned at himself and looked back down at Jeannie's round tearstained face.

"I understand what you were trying to do here, Jeannie, I really do. But once the authorities get involved, it's time to call it quits." Tony started gently.

"I can take care of that, Master…and I can get the audience back so that the boys can play a little bit longer…" Jeannie tried to reason. Tony shook his head and put both hands on her shoulders.

"It wouldn't be the same."

Jeannie raised her eyebrows in confusion and turned to see Peter's downcast face. He glanced up at her when he noticed that she was waiting for him to continue and he kicked at a tuft of sand that had drifted up onto the stage.

"Playing for that group of people this evening was nice and all…but it was because they chose to come down here and see us. If you just…you know… _made_ them stay here to listen to us…it wouldn't feel the same." Peter said simply. Mike nodded and clapped a hand on the blonde boy's back.

"I think that's one of the most genuine things you've said today, Peter." Mike said lightheartedly.

Jeannie blinked thoughtfully and turned back to Tony with a look of sorrowful realization. Her Master brushed a tear from her face and she chanced a look back up at him through watery eyes.

"Master…you can't ask me to take this night away from them…they enjoyed it so much…I don't want them to forget it all and go back to how they were feeling before…" She whispered so that just he could hear her. Tony bit his lip, seeming to be at war with himself for a moment before once more looking up to the four boys. Micky had stepped back and was saying something in a soothing voice to Peter who still looked emotional from his outburst.

"What if…what if they just forgot that _you_ were the one who put it together for them? The experience will still be there…but they just won't remember the exact details of how it was put together?" Roger suggested lightly. Tony considered his friend's idea and then looked to Jeannie for her approval. She hesitantly bit her lip and looked at the four boys who were quietly conversing with themselves, trying not to look like they were listening to the trio across the stage from them.

"They won't remember us…" Jeannie repeated softly. She slumped her shoulders and turned to look back up to Tony. "Should I just go ahead and make them forget every other bad experience they've ever had in their business while I'm at it? Honestly, Master, finding out that I am a genie wasn't too big of a surprise for them."

"Now Jeannie…" Tony said gently. Jeannie hung her head and then nodded. She raised her blue eyes to the group, all four of them looking back at her worriedly. She walked across the stage, the tears welling up once more in her eyes. As she stopped in front of the bandmates, they sensed that a decision had been made about their situation.

"Jeannie…" Davy spoke up softly when she didn't move from looking between the four of them for a long moment. She came to life at his voice and bit her lip tight enough to draw blood before hugging the shorter boy tightly.

"Oh Davy…I hope you are able to find your Valleri one day. The right girl is out there for you, I promise." She said in his ear. Davy's face was sad but hopeful as she kissed his cheek and pulled away from him slowly. There was a silent pause and then she moved on to Peter who smiled at her softly.

"Thanks Jeannie…for letting us show everyone what we could do. We had a really great time." He said quietly. Jeannie nodded and hugged him too.

"Your musical talents will take you farther than you know, Peter. Just run with it." She whispered. She kissed him on the cheek as well and saw a bright shade of red lighten his cheeks as she turned to Mike.

"We really appreciate the stakes you went through to put this whole thing together for us…" Mike said uncomfortably, his gaze drifting between her and the two men across the stage behind her. "But…we know you've gotta do what you've gotta do."

"I'm sorry, Mike." Jeannie said softly. "I tried to reason with him…but he doesn't know you all like I feel like I have gotten to know you over the past two days. You're all _very_ special to me and I want you to know that I won't forget any of you."

Jeannie stood on her tiptoes and hugged him, giving him a quick peck on the cheek as well. The tall Texan cleared his throat softly as Jeannie smiled at him before moving on to Micky at the end of the line.

The curly headed drummer was smiling down at her sadly, tears having welled up in his eyes as he realized that he was the last one she had to say goodbye to. Jeannie took his hand from by his side and held it for a moment until he squeezed it and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Micky…" She choked out emotionally before the tears began to flood down her face once more. "You all are going to be fine, I promise."

"We're going to split up aren't we?" He said worriedly. Jeannie shook her head and pulled back to look up into his brown teary eyes.

"Eventually, I'm sure but Micky…don't think about that. You boys have each other _right now_ and that's all that matters. Make the most of the fun times you've had and will have, I'm sure things will go your way." She said through her tears. Micky swiped a hand across his face and nodded as he tried to keep himself collected in front of the supernaturally-gifted woman in front of him.

"Thank you Jeannie…for everything." He murmured. Jeannie nodded sadly and kissed him gently on his cheek and then tore herself away from the group of teens. She studied the boys carefully, not really wanting to meet any of their defeated gazes, but needing to drink in their knowing expressions one last time. She took a deep breath and felt Tony and Roger watching her sadly from behind, knowing how much it hurt Jeannie to finally put an end to the few most exciting days she'd had in a long while.

"Goodbye, boys…" Jeannie choked out, hesitating for a moment as Micky shook his head with a half-turned up smirk.

"It's not goodbye…just see you later." He said softly. Jeannie's heart twisted in her chest and the other three Monkees each offered her a small smile to show that they agreed with what the drummer said.

"Right. See you later." Jeannie repeated quietly with a returning smile. She scanned their young, cheery faces for a second more and then instinctively blinked the four boys back to their beach house. She slowly turned back around and could see that Tony and Roger were both returned back to wearing their uniforms, uncomfortable expressions on their faces. The huge tent was gone too, along with the stage, leaving the three people standing on the beach in silence as four policemen wandered back down to the beach, puzzled expressions pasted on their faces. The party had seemingly vanished as quickly as it had seemed to appear.


	15. The Next Morning

Micky woke up the next morning in his room, surrounded by his other three slumbering bandmates. He blinked the hazy feeling out of his head for a few moments, looking around at the early sunlit bedroom in confusion.

The last thing he could recall was playing onstage at some crowded party. Dozens and dozens of people were watching them perform and the deafening sound of their music still reverberated in Micky's head. He smiled to himself as the spiritual high he had been on the night before still lingered in his memory.

"That…must've been some party…" Davy's voice said from across the room, his voice still scratchy from sleep. Micky slowly raised his head from his pillow as he noticed his bandmates stirring into consciousness.

"Yeah…I don't even remember us coming home last night…" Peter added with a wide yawn.

"When _did_ we all get home last night?" Micky muttered confusedly, looking to Mike who he was sure would know how to explain the tangled mess that was the previous night.

"Well…" The taller Monkee threw his blanket off of himself and moved to sit up on the edge of his bed, removing his wool hat from where it had still been resting on his head. He stared down at the hat, blinking at it curiously before shrugging it away with a shake of his head. "I think the last time I glanced at my watch during our show, it was around 6:30 last night…maybe? So we couldn't have been out that much later…"

"You don't suppose that we…?" Davy mimed holding a bottle and tipping it into his face with a comical expression before looking back to Micky who quickly shook his head.

"No…you know we all vowed never to mess around with anything like that when we're working. We wouldn't have gotten into anything like that." Micky dismissed.

"Then how can you explain every one of us having the same loss of memory?" Peter asked worriedly. Micky shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"Can't."

The other three Monkees stared at him confusedly for a moment.

"Shouldn't we be worried about that?" Davy asked.

"Why?" Micky asked casually, brushing away the unsettled feeling he had woken up with. "Nothing bad seems to have happened…right?"

"Well so far, no…" Mike admitted, scratching his head nervously. "But that doesn't exactly mean that nothing's wrong…"

"You don't think it was one of _those_ things, do ya?" Davy asked, raising an eyebrow to glance around at his bandmates. The four teens were silent as they considered the thought for a moment before a sharp knock sounded from the pad's front door down below.

"I think you spoke too soon, Davy." Peter chided the younger boy. Davy swallowed hard in worry as both Mike and Micky stood up from their beds at the same time to go down to answer the door.

"I'll get it, Mike." Micky said quickly, shrugging once more. Mike watched as the other boy walked swiftly out of the room and heard his hurried footsteps as he descended the metal spiral stairs. When he was sure that Micky was out of earshot, he turned to find that both Peter and Davy had also stood up from their unmade beds and moved closer to Mike.

"Am I the only one here that thinks Micky's acting a little strange this morning?" Mike asked them. Both of the boys shook their heads quickly as they stared at the open bedroom door where they could hear that the knocking had ceased downstairs.

"He's usually a little more panicky about stuff like this than we are…and it's reversed this time." Peter said thoughtfully. Davy nodded.

"Think there's something he knows about all this that we don't?"

* * *

Micky crossed the silent first floor landing to the front door, brushing a hand through his messy brown hair and smoothing down his blue eight-buttoned dress shirt from where he had slept in it the night before. He twisted the doorknob and opened it to reveal the stout but demanding presence of the boys' landlord.

"Oh, good morning Mr. Babbit!" Micky said cheerfully as he opened the door a little wider to allow the landlord to enter the pad. "We weren't expecting anyone this early…"

"Yeah, well I didn't hear you boys come in last night, which was kinda odd since you're always making a ruckus when you come back from playing one of your gigs." The man sniffed, glancing around suspiciously as he slowly walked into the room. As he passed by him, Micky noticed a rolled up newspaper grasped firmly in his hand.

"We, uh, were pretty worn out from all of our playing. You know it's been a long time since we've played that hard." Micky said nonchalantly. Mr. Babbit looked up to the second floor where the other three boys had started to emerge from the bedroom, hearing the familiar voice of their landlord.

"Hi, Mr. Babbit!" Mike called cheerfully, his wool hat placed neatly back on his head to keep his dark hair smoothed down. Davy and Peter also greeted the sour-looking man politely as they followed Mike down the stairs.

"Hm. Well, I just thought I'd check on you boys after you're long night…how did things go at that party of yours, by the way?" Mr. Babbit asked, crossing his arms and revealing the rolled up newspaper once more.

"Oh, I'm glad you asked about that!" Mike said with a smile as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. "It went pretty well, I think. We might even hear back from them on the next go 'round."

"Yeah, there were loads of people there, so, fingers crossed, they'll tell their friends and we'll get back on a regular schedule again!" Davy added enthusiastically. Micky narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he caught a glimpse of the main title on the newspaper in Mr. Babbit's hand. The words 'Mystery Band' was in large bold letters near the top of the page.

"Great, that's always good to hear!" Mr. Babbit said with icy congratulations. The four boys smiled up at him sweetly, knowing that the only reason their landlord had come to visit them so early was to sniff out if they had been paid the night before, which, of course, they had no recollection of.

"I think we were in such a hurry to leave the party last night because of how late it ended, so they'll be sending our check in the mail." Micky said quickly, glancing to Mike who caught on to the lie.

"And we'll be sure to let you know as soon as it does." The taller boy added with a curt head nod. Mr. Babbit feigned innocence, waving the newspaper in front of him nonchalantly.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that, boys. You take your time, find yourself a few more gigs and then we'll talk." He said with another fake smile.

The boys held their cheerful smiles until the landlord had strode back to the door and closed it behind himself. The Monkees exhaled quickly and then straightened back up a millisecond later as the door reopened and Mr. Babbit stuck his head in once more.

"Oh, I almost forgot your paper. Thought the cover story would interest you guys." Mr. Babbit said, tossing the paper to Peter who was the closest. The blonde boy caught it in surprise as the man left for the second time, leaving the room in puzzled silence.

"It says _'Search for Mystery Beach Band'_ …" Mike murmured thoughtfully as the three boys leaned over Peter's shoulders to scan the front page of the paper. "Beach party was abruptly ended when the authorities came to investigate…according to some of the guests, the party hosts and rock and roll band are all still unknown."

"Mystery Band?" Davy repeated sharply. "You don't think they mean us?"

"I can't even remember where we played at last night, but yeah, that really does sound like us." Mike answered, gently taking the paper from Peter's hands and flipping it to the next page where the short story continued. "Yep, it had to be…the questioned guests are calling the boy band a bunch of 'long haired weirdos.'"

"I…I think I remember…" Micky said, scrunching up his face as he fought to look past the huge gap of memory from the day before. "It was really hot on the stage, I definitely know that…"

"Yeah that does sound about right…" Peter agreed, putting a finger to his chin and nodding as he tried to piece together his memory too. "And…and a tent! We _were_ on the beach!"

"It says here that a music publisher from downtown is looking for this mystery band from a party last night and is hoping to have them record for him! Guys…maybe we need to really try looking into this thing!" Mike said, his eyes wide as he continued reading the front page story.

"Wow…that's really serious…" Davy said, his voice soft as he thought of having their little band actually record their music for real.

"It could be the big break that we've been waiting for!" Micky exclaimed, his face lighting up with newfound hope.

"I think you've said that before." Peter said teasingly. Micky shrugged and took the paper from Mike to see how to get in touch with the music publishing company.

"Well, we _are_ a band and we _did_ perform last night." Mike said with thoughtful look. "I say we give this guy a call!"

* * *

Jeannie smiled from where she had secretly been watching the four boys milling about their beach house the morning after their party. She had shrunken herself down to the size of a pencil and had been lounging casually on top of Micky's drum head, watching the boys talk to their greedy-looking landlord. When he had left and the boys had found the front page newspaper story about themselves, Jeannie had to restrain her knowing giggles. As she watched each of their faces light up with their familiar excitement with their reading, her giggles dissolved into a contented sigh. Though she had erased herself and both Major Nelson and Major Healey from their direct memories, she had left the talented young boys with the hope that they had accumulated at the party last night.

"How much do you wanna bet that every other boy band in the county is congregated at this guy's doorstep this morning?" Davy asked sourly as the other three boys bustled about, getting themselves preened and looking decent enough to meet their hopefully future boss.

"Don't think like that, Davy! We know that we're the _actual_ mystery band, and when we show up they'll just turn everyone else away!" Micky called down from the upstairs balcony where he had changed into a fresh set of clothes. Davy shook his head, a huge grin on his face.

"I doubt we're _that_ special, Mick, but it's a nice thought." Mike said with a smirk.

"Well, we're no more special than anybody else is." Peter said, running a comb through his blonde hair to straighten it as best as he could. When he through with it, he handed it to Davy who fluffed at his hair too.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Peter the Humble." Micky joked from upstairs where he was yanking on his black boots. Peter smirked and did a polite bow to no one in particular, causing Davy to roll his eyes lightheartedly. Jeannie smiled brightly as she watched Mike grab the keys to their bright red Monkeemobile that was parked outside.

"Alright guys, let's go before we hit into the noonday traffic!" Mike called behind him as he headed for the door. Micky slid casually down the metal staircase, hopped to a stop on the ground floor, and continued in an excited little skip after Mike who was just reaching the front door. Peter and Davy, both with overeager smiles on their face rushed after them as well, and were surprised to be met by a knock on the door in front of them.

"Don't they know this is no time for visitors?" Davy chided, shaking his head jokingly. Mike opened the door to reveal the mailman who held out a package to the boys.

"Sorry to bother you guys…but I figured you'd want this hand delivered instead of out here in your mailbox." The man said, a confused look on his face as he handed the oddly shaped box to Mike. The tall Monkee nodded and thanked the man, turning to show the package to the other three boys.

"Who'd send us a package first thing in the morning?" Peter asked.

"I don't know, but I guess we'd better open it. We don't have time to linger on it too long!" Micky said, impatiently tapping his hands on Mike's shoulder where he had turned to unwrap the package on the card table by the wall.

Mike studied the handwriting on the outside of the package, noticing that there was no return address. The handwriting looked obviously feminine, with swooping lettering that fanned out dramatically. Raising his eyebrows, Mike carefully peeled up the edge of the package and then quickly unwrapped the small white box that couldn't be much more than a foot or so long. Upon opening the box, Mike's expression was even more puzzled as he pulled out a bright pink lava lamp. Jeannie had her hands clamped over her mouth as she read each of the boys' intrigued expressions.

"A lava lamp? Who's it from?" Davy asked, picking through the paper the Mike had shuffled to the side of the table.

"There's a note!" Peter said, reaching into the box once Mike had handed the lamp to Micky. Peter stared at the small notecard for a moment, reading, before Mike carefully took it from him to read it aloud.

"It says, 'Thank you boys for performing at my party last night. I'd never heard such beautiful music from around here! I hope that with this small token of my gratitude that you four will be set off to have more adventures together, playing your music all along the way! Good luck!'"

Mike stopped reading and frowned in confusion as he glanced over to Micky who had been fiddling around with the hot pink lava lamp. The drummer had unscrewed the base of the lamp, and his face froze in shock as he revealed a small pouch of what sounded like a good handful of coins in the compartment underneath it. Davy grabbed the pouch from him and dumped the coins into his hand eagerly.

"Golden coins!" The smaller boy exclaimed in disbelief. Peter's face was the picture of surprise as he reached out to hold a few of the gold coins in his hand too.

"There's no name on the note either, is there?" Micky asked softly, staring at the compartment under the lava lamp for any other clues. Mike handed him the card and shook his head.

"Nope."

"Figures." Micky said, gently screwing the lamp back together and setting it on the table. He plugged it into the wall and flipped it on, watching as the hot pink lamp instantly lit up with sparkles and bubbles.

"We uh… we were going somewhere, weren't we?" Mike reminded the boys after a moment, jingling his keys.

Jeannie smiled, still sitting on Micky's drum as she watched the four boys replace the pouch of coins in the bottom of the lava lamp and rush out of the apartment. She hugged her arms to herself tightly and then turned to look out at the beach from the large picture window behind the boys' small living room stage. Past the few surfers and beachgoers on the shore, Jeannie could see a boat on the horizon with what looked like a large kite trailing from behind it. She smiled wickedly as she thought of Tony and Roger and their long grueling day of meetings. When they were finished, she had a big surprise in store for them…she intended to take them parasailing.

The End


End file.
